No Ride, No Referral, No Problem: Walter Made It Work.

Riding the bus can be unpredictable.  Sometimes it’s right on time, but often it runs late.  Sometimes it’s quiet, cool and spacious, but often it’s loud, hot and packed with people.  Sometimes it stops, and sometimes it goes.  We pay a fare  up front—a few dollars dropped in a box at the door.  From there, it’s not always clear what we’ll get for our money.  It can be an adventure, and not always a fun one.

But for Walter Gavidia, riding the bus meant getting to work.  In fact, it was two buses—he boarded each morning in Fairfax, switched over in Vienna, and then rode out to Chantilly, where Walter still works as a detail technician at Pohanka Chevrolet.  If everything ran smoothly, and on time, the commute took 1 hour and 27 minutes, one-way. 

Everything did not always run smoothly.  “Sometimes it took two hours,” says Walter.  “You know, the bus stops all the time.  And sometimes I missed the bus.  I had to pay a taxi.”

Walter Gavidia was born in El Salvador.  He immigrated to the United States and needed a job.  In 1995, he decided to walk into the service department of Pohanka Acura and ask if they would consider hiring him.

“They said who recommended you here?” remembers Walter.  “I said nobody.”

Not having an appointment or referral can be challenging when applying for a job.  But Walter and his soon-to-be new employer decided to make things work.  Walter started the next day in the detail department at Pohanka Chevrolet. 

“Stay strong and never give up.”

Walter holds his daughter in front of his new Toyota Celica.

It quickly became clear to all those around him that Walter was a good worker.  He was also very motivated. 

He had to be.  “I was all alone,” said Walter.  “That’s how I started.”

Where he started, however, was not where he remained.  Walter kept working, saving money, and eventually was able to move closer to work, from Fairfax to a townhouse in Chantilly.  The shorter commute meant no more bus route.  But getting to work, at least at first, was not without its challenges.

“I rode a bike,” said Walter.  “Sometimes [I] walked.”

Walter continued to work hard in the detail department, and before long, he had saved enough money to buy his first car.  He returned to Pohanka Acura, this time not as a job applicant, but as a customer.  Walter purchased a red, preowned Toyota Celica.

“I felt very excited to buy the car,” notes Walter.  “It had been a long time [on] the bus.  Very exciting.”

Walter’s commute to work was now much shorter.  His family, however, was expanding.  Around the same time he bought his first car, Walter and his wife Maria welcomed their daughter Monica.  The man who started all alone now had a work family, a family at home, and a new car.

Since this time, Walter’s family has grown.  He and Maria have four children.  His commute has grown as well.  Walter and Maria recently purchased a new house in Bealeton, Virginia.  It takes longer to get to work now, but Walter has no nostalgia for the old bus station. “I’ve been buying all my cars from Pohanka Acura,” assures Walter. 

Walter attributes his success at Pohanka to resilience and focusing on his job.  Walter is still working hard as a detail technician for Pohanka Chevrolet.  He shows no signs of slowing down.  Over the past 30 years, Walter’s career path at Pohanka has been a fulfilling ride.  The time goes fast, even when we start the trip on a bus.