Lori Brooks, a school bus driver in Michigan, is known as Miss Sparkles to the kids on her route. And it’s easy to see why she earned the nickname.
Teresa Weakley recently filmed Brooks greeting riders on their first day back in the classroom. In Weakley's TikTok video, Brooks, a 60-year-old grandmother, is shown welcoming each child with a warm hug. She knows every student by name — and the names of their parents.
“Hello, Eliana!” Brooks exclaims. “I missed you. Did you have a good summer?”
When Kathleen steps on the bus, Brooks announces that she saw her over the summer doing flips at a beach “like a rubber band.”
According to Weakley, a morning anchor with NBC affiliate WOODTV, Brooks is an unwavering “ray of sunshine.” Weakley has a sixth grader and a third grader who both ride with Brooks.
“What you see in the TikTok video is how she is every day,” Weakley tells TODAY.com. "She's just incredible at making everyone feel special."
Brooks wears many hats. Not only does she provide safe transportation to and from school, she’s a cheerleader, surrogate mom, and an advice-giver.
Weakley notes that her daughter confided in Brooks about friendship drama. Brooks remembers that chat well.
“I just asked if she needed someone to talk to,” Brooks tells TODAY.com. “I’m good at reading facial expressions. I can see in their eyes when they’re struggling and I let them kmow they can come to me."
This is Brooks’ 10th year behind the wheel. She previously worked as a shipping manager in a factory.
“No matter what you do, I think you can change the world a little bit,” Brooks says. “Everybody has such value in this life.”
Brooks makes a point to learn about each child on her route, and cheers them on at their games. If a child gets on the bus without their glasses, Brooks notices.
“I let them go back in the house to grab them,” she says. “They have to be able to see at school!
When Brooks’s husband passed away unexpectedly in 2021, the families on her route showed up in droves with meals and cards.
“The kids drew me pictures and that made me smile — because there I am with my big hair and big jewelry,” she says. “Coco Chanel said before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off. My motto is, ‘Add more.’”
Brooks only took off a few days from work after losing the love of her life two years ago.
“My job brings me so much joy — these kids bring me so much joy,” she says. “They’re helping me to heal.”
And she's helping them to become the best versions of themselves.
"I tell them that kindess is the cure for everything," Brooks says.