Rain splattered the windshield as Devon rolled into Blacksburg, Virginia, his fingers gripping the wheel tighter than he meant to. The road had been long—literally, from the suburbs of Cleveland to the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains—but metaphorically, too. Transferring his driver’s license to Virginia wasn’t just a bureaucratic task; it was a declaration. He was here. He was staying. And Virginia Tech was no longer just a dream—it was home.
The scent of pine and fresh mountain air mixed with the hum of anticipation as he pulled into the DMV lot. His Ohio license sat on the passenger seat like an old photo, a snapshot of who he used to be. Back then, he was just another face in a crowded lecture hall, studying mechanical engineering at a university that never quite fit. There was no spark, no community. It was like living in someone else’s life.
Virginia Tech had been different from the start. The first time he’d visited, the campus had buzzed with a quiet intensity, a synergy of minds and machines. He’d walked past Burruss Hall with its Gothic limestone arches, seen cadets march in crisp formation, and felt a pull—something deeper than admiration. It felt like destiny knocking on the door he didn’t know he’d been keeping shut.
Devon’s fingers brushed the edge of his worn VT hoodie as he stepped inside the DMV. He recalled the day he received his acceptance letter. The words “We are pleased to offer you admission…” had turned his bedroom into a blur of spinning emotions. He wasn’t just transferring schools; he was reshaping his entire life.
“Reason for address change?” the DMV clerk asked flatly.
“Enrolling at Virginia Tech,” Devon replied, his voice steady, proud.
The clerk nodded, handed him a clipboard, and Devon took a seat by the window. Outside, students passed by in Hokie maroon and burnt orange, laughing, heading to classes, games, and lives he was now a part of.
He thought of the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering building where he’d soon spend long nights solving fluid mechanics problems. He imagined Hokie football games under stadium lights, study groups in Newman Library, and hot coffee at Deet’s Place during snow-dusted mornings. He envisioned the maroon-and-orange lanyard that would carry his new ID—proof not just of enrollment, but belonging.
When the clerk called him back, he handed over his Ohio license without hesitation. She snapped his photo, typed a few lines, and with the slam of a printer and a satisfied nod, she handed him a temporary Virginia driver’s license.
It was a small piece of plastic, but it held the weight of transformation.
Devon stepped back into the cool spring air, his new license in his wallet and the Hokie stone towers of Virginia Tech standing tall just beyond. With every step toward campus, he left behind who he was and walked boldly into who he was becoming.
