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When Sam Mencimer was 10 years old, he took the 54 bus from Takoma to L’Enfant Plaza daily. Every day, he would have a whole host of questions for bus driver Joy Kenley.

And every day, Kenley would answer him as best as she could. Then, one day, she had an idea: “How about a tour of the bus garage?”

“I was like, ‘yes, absolutely!’ I was over the moon!” said Mencimer, now 22. “As a 10-year-old, I thought that was the coolest thing ever.”

Fast forward 11 years, and Mencimer is now all grown up with a college degree and working in Metro’s signal engineering division. Kenley, now a station manager, realized she and Mencimer had the same employer now.

“I would think, ’11 years ago, and he found me.’ And I’m thinking, ‘He’s in a Metro uniform — awesome!'” Kenley said.

A lot has changed since 2014.

“The 54 bus, it would go from Takoma to, at the time, L’Enfant Plaza,” Mencimer said.

That bus route has transformed into the D50 in Metro’s reshuffling of bus routes this year.

Mencimer credited Kenley’s kindness and patience in showing him the ropes of a job he loves.

“People always say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. That’s how it is here,” Mencimer said. “And then I get to work with all these amazing people. So amazing.”

“I’m very proud of him,” Kenley said. “I’m glad I had that impact on him. If I get a chance to do it again, I will.”