While at Franklin Cummings Tech, Daniel Perez started a small business transporting college athletic teams to their games. He has grown that small operation into a global ground transportation company called DPV Transportation Worldwide, which operates brick and mortar locations in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Perez serves as the company’s president.
What was your path to becoming a Franklin Cummings Tech student?
I was born in Colombia and moved to the United States at age 11. I was raised in East Boston and most of my childhood was in Revere. I was a wild teenager, and through college. I applied to several schools and did not get accepted into any of them. However, I did get into Franklin Cummings Tech and qualified for financial aid—Franklin Cummings Tech became my option. I began as a Computer Engineer, and from there, switched majors to Electrical Technology.
How much personal attention did you receive from faculty members? Are there any specific faculty members you especially recall as making a lasting influence during your time as student and beyond?
Mr. Griffin. As we were graduating, he shared some advice with the class. He offered us some helpful hiring practices we might encounter as we enter the workforce.
[With a big grin on his face, and doing his best Mr. Griffin impression, Dan proudly recalls the feedback he received from the professor:] “I know who I would NOT hire. It would be Daniel Perez because he’s always late. But I would hire him to run the business.” That has stuck with me.
Overall, during my Franklin Cummings Tech experience, I learned a ton. Writing skills, public speaking helped me a ton—and doing research. At the end of the day, it is a commitment—it is a discipline that could be utilized in life. Most importantly, if I did not go to that school—I would not have the business I have today.
How did Franklin Cummings Tech prepare you for your career?
While studying electrical technology at Franklin Cummings Tech and working part-time as a driver for an independent operator ground transportation company, I was driving a sizeable passenger van to school. I was getting teased by my classmates for that vehicle. As I go back and think about it…the school has had a really big impact on not just my life—but also my business.”
At the time, I was working for someone else, and I saw the mistreatment of staff—and the service desk was horrible. I thought to myself, I am going to start my own company. I am going creates something way better. Create a company where we treat everyone with respect [and] we value self-esteem. Treat them as family and focus on these core values. We have about two hundred employees today.
There was also [then Dean of Students] Dave Drucker. He was the one who noticed that a lot of the kids used to make fun of me because I was driving this big van to the school. He asked me if I would consider starting to transport the athletic teams, so I started with transporting the athletic teams to New York, Connecticut—wherever they had a game. I drove all over New England. From there, I was referred to Roxbury Community College, and from there another college. And then Dean Drucker offered me the chance to be considered and awarded the school’s transportation contract. It was at that time I purchased my first bus. I did a great job and kept expanding into other markets. I moved into other markets, the financial and corporations. Once I entered into the market—as they say, “the rest is history.”
Fast forward 16 years later, and now the company that I founded during my time as a Franklin Cummings Tech student operates brick and mortar locations in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. We have two divisions. Black car livery and bus services through North America.
How did your experience at Franklin Cummings Tech help you find your first position after graduation?
I started my business while I was going to college. I was focused on building that. I now own a ground transportation company operating on a global scale. Mainly in the U.S., but also globally through a network of strategic partners.
What are you most proud of from your Franklin Cummings Tech experience?
I was able to start my business because the dean of students believed in me—an 18-year-old—driving the sports teams. He had patience with me. He ensured that members of the school’s writing faculty worked with me to prepare my very first business contract. It was these things that I go back in the essence of gratitude to Franklin Cummings Tech. To be able to create a business—the opportunity Franklin Cummings Tech related for me. Putting myself in that proximity.
As a business owner, you have a lot of decisions to make. One of them being hiring decisions. Would you consider hiring a Franklin Cummings Tech student?
I would love to! Your trade program for auto repairs—we are always looking for mechanics. Not only because I graduated, but to get good talent! There are going to be so many opportunities and needs in the electric vehicle space and potentially some sort of joint ventures around that. There are going to be demands for the right technicians, and skilled and knowledgeable talent to work on battery chargers and components.
What advice do you have for students as they look for future careers or future programs to apply to?
Your environment is what outlines your outcomes. I put myself in the right environment. I would say that proximity is power. But you have to put yourself in that proximity. That is what I did at Franklin Cummings Tech. I put myself in the right proximity and it helped me become the person I am today.
What is your formula for success that you would like to share with the next generation of students.
What is coming to mind is… if you do not know where you are going, any bus could take you there. When you are 19 or 20 years old, entering into a trade or an associates degree—have something in mind or clarity of where you want to be 40 years from now—and stick to that outcome.
Start with the what, the why, and then the how. The “what” is what career; the “why” is because I want to be fixing cars because I have a passion for this, and I want to earn this salary, or I love to be an electrician because it is my passion. If you really endeavor on that “why,” the “how” becomes clear. Ensure that you are personally conducting yourself in the best behavior to deliver on that “why.”
Finally, if there is anything I can do to help support myself and the clarity of students, if I can be an inspiration to others, I am more than happy to do so.
-Published May 26, 2023
