On Monday, September 17, Belmont hosted a convocation event featuring Belmont alumni Ryan Ennis who speak about his work for the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security. Ennis shared his experiences working specifically with the Commercial Driver License Division (CDL) and the Division’s recent advancements. He also shared opportunities for professional growth through the Division’s new internship program featuring available positions in communications, compliance, record management, data report writing and more.
Ennis was introduced by CDL Compliance Manager and Belmont student Olivia Jones. She began by sharing with students that there is much more to this job than one might think. She said that there are 300,000 commercial drivers licenses that the Division maintains across the state of Tennessee, as well as compliance and fraud monitoring. She shared that CDL holders must have access to the knowledge and resources they need to keep roadways and other drivers safe.
“Public and roadway safety is vital to everyone,” Jones said. “The CDL Division is changing the way state government operates.” She said as the state rolls out a larger focus on customer service and upholding accountability, the safety of our roadways will follow suit.
For Ennis, the time he’s spent with CDL has come with many changes. He shared that nine new positions have recently come available, and the Division has incorporated new communications software to run data analytics on customers served and satisfaction ratings. In addition to these advances, Ennis said that new, more effective and cost efficient tablets across the state have saved tax payers $400,000 and over $696,000 has been invested in the Division.
Ennis concluded by sharing with students that everyone has a role to play in public safety and the CDL Division has a need for a wide variety of educational backgrounds and interests. He said that the Division is investing in their personnel and once students have graduated, there are significant opportunities for growth and use of their skill-sets.
