One bus driver went the extra mile to make a memorable first impression on the first day of school.
Lucas Champion, a bus driver for the Fairfax County Public School District in Virginia, showed up in a black tuxedo to take his students to school on Monday, Aug. 18.
Champion, 33, tells PEOPLE that deciding to rewear his groomsman tuxedo from 2016 was completely spontaneous. Having started with the district in April, Champion is also a former student in the district. One of his former teachers captured the now-viral photo.
The inspiration struck the night before when his family came over and they were listening to music. His niece’s excitement while listening to ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” sparked the idea. “I listen to that song whenever I’m getting ready for a ‘fancy’ event. It’s just like a little ritual I do,” he says.
“So that came on and then it just sparked in my head, ‘Oh, tomorrow’s the first day of school. I’m gonna do this,’ ” Champion recalls. He then dug out his tucked-away tuxedo.
Champion admits he didn’t check with the school beforehand. While the district expects faculty to “look presentable,” this level of dress was definitely above and beyond. He notes that bus drivers normally wear work gloves to handle oil, grease, and engine fluids.
“That was actually heavy on my mind when I was getting ready. I was like, ‘Oh man, I hope I don’t get oil or cooling [fluid] on my tuxedo. I better bring my gloves,’ ” he tells PEOPLE with a laugh. “It was a very big juxtaposition.”
Students, parents, and faculty alike were charmed by his unexpected choice. “There were a lot of smiles. A lot of expressions of joy,” he says, noting he saw plenty of “faces light up [and] smiles of bewilderment.”
The students, however, were initially more subdued, still transitioning from summer mode. “Some of ’em may have glanced and wondered if they were seeing things,” he explains.
By the afternoon, though, the reactions poured in. “Several were saying, ‘Hey, I love the fit.’ ‘Looking sharp, sir.’ ‘Nice suit.’ ‘Why are you wearing that?’ ”
Administrators, on the other hand, reacted immediately, asking if he was headed to a wedding or an interview.
Wearing a tuxedo in a Virginia summer wasn’t exactly comfortable. “I was dripping. I had a rag behind me constantly wiping my head and brow,” he admits. “But, we gotta suffer for our art.”
Looking ahead, Champion hints that this may become a yearly tradition. “I think it went over really well. People enjoyed it, [and] it helped ease the stress of the first day for some,” he says. “Why not? It’s a simple thing.”
“It makes people smile,” he adds. “I think what the world needs is more people smiling and feeling happy.”
“So I guess I kind of have to do it every year now,” he laughs. “Hopefully I don’t gain too much weight and size out of it. Then I’ll just have to get a new one.”
