Published on April 20, 2026

Neoga senior Ayden White has yet to earn his high school diploma, but he’s already built the foundation of a high-demand career. Thanks to a unique partnership with Lake Land College, Ayden is turning his last semester of high school into a pathway toward earning a class A commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Ayden is one of several local students enrolled this semester in Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Theory, a dual credit course designed to equip high schoolers with the career-ready skills to operate tractor trailers, flatbeds, livestock carriers and other heavy-duty vehicles. Held in the Lake Land College Effingham Technology Center, the course is available to high schoolers through a partnership with Creating Opportunities for Regional Employment (CORE), which provides free career exploration classes for students across 16 local high schools.

“My grandpa owns a trucking business in Decatur, and I want to work for him when I graduate, so I was pretty excited to learn about this class,” Ayden explained. “You learn a lot about the road rules, and you realize just how much different it all is from driving a car.”

The process to earn a class A CDL requires multiple steps, the first of which is to complete an accredited CDL theory class to be eligible for a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) from the Illinois Secretary of State. Lake Land’s dual credit class, which is recognized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), provides high school seniors with the required training to qualify for the permit by the time they graduate, granting them the opportunity to accelerate their career pathways while simultaneously earning high school credit. These graduates can then advance to behind-the-wheel training, the last requirement to complete before testing for the CDL.

“I’ll get my permit in early May, and then I’ll take the summer to practice and hopefully get my CDL by August,” Ayden explained. “If I had waited to start the process until after I graduated, it would have just added time until I can work.”

Perhaps even greater than the reduced time, however, is the cost savings that students enjoy by completing the course early. Like all classes offered through CORE, the dual credit CDL Theory course is available to students for free. According to class instructor Justin Onigkeit, Lake Land College Transportation Training Coordinator, this saves students from spending about $2,000 to complete a traditional CDL Theory course after graduating.

“These young adults are thinking ahead and looking at their futures,” Justin said. “They know they’ll eventually need a CDL license for the type of careers they want to go into, so they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to do it at a reduced cost.”

Justin notes that Lake Land’s high school CDL class covers everything expected of an accredited FMCSA course – from basic operation to inspection and maintenance to safe driving practices – while also offering additional advantages. He recently added a brand-new truck driving simulator to the course, allowing students to practice in a realistic yet safe environment before their official behind-the-wheel training. Additionally, the high school CDL Theory course includes a separate Careers in CDL component designed specifically for young students. In this portion of the course, students learn how to develop their resumes, practice their soft skills and explore the countless career opportunities available with a CDL.

“This class is designed for career exploration. A lot of these students aren’t necessarily going to be truck drivers. But there are a lot of jobs out there where even if driving isn’t the main part of the job, it’s a secondary function and you’re required to have your license,” Justin explained. “A lot of these students are going to work in the agriculture industry and need to be able to haul livestock, or some might be construction workers who need to haul equipment to a job site. A lot of electricians and lineman also need a CDL to drive their vehicles.”

This semester marks just the second year that Lake Land has made the CDL Theory class available to high school students, but already Justin has seen it grow exponentially. Last Spring, 11 total students enrolled in the course. Now, just a year later, Justin is teaching 38 students, and enrollment for Spring 2027 has already reached maximum capacity. Justin credits the growth to strong partnerships and support from the local high schools, and he hopes it’s a sign the program will continue to expand moving forward.

“The high schools have been asking for a program like this for a long time,” Justin said. “We at Lake Land realized that we have the structure in place to run this type of program, so we decided to offer it as dual credit. The high schools really wanted this for their students, and Lake Land found a way to do it.”