Peter Durant credits his aunt’s relationship with a fellow nurse during World War II as the reason he’s here instead of Barbados. While abroad serving as a nurse for the British, she met a Minnesotan nurse, who sponsored her immigration following the war. It wasn’t long after that Durant and his mother were sponsored by his aunt.

“I’ve now been in Minnesota now longer than I’ve been in Barbados,” Durant said. “We came here to seek opportunity, and I found it here.”

After arriving in Minnesota in 1977, he began work as a mechanic – a course of study he took after high school. Previously working on diesel boat engines in Barbados, the transition to buses was natural. In Minnesota, he started at a big box retailer’s garage, then moved to an interstate bus company. During a mass layoff as they closed their Minneapolis location, he applied to be a Metro Transit mechanic in 1985.

“My old employer offered me a job, but it required me to move. But, I wanted to stay close to my family here,” he said. “Applying to Metro Transit was the best decision I made in my career.”

Durant’s career spanned 35 years and he worked in nearly every single garage, except Old Northside and East Metro. The bulk of his time was at Heywood, but today he finishes his duty at Ruter Garage. He looks fondly upon his time, the friends he made, and amazed at the number of changes throughout the years.

“Life is like drifting in the ocean; you never know where it will carry you.” he said. “But when opportunity comes, grab it and hope for the best.”

In retirement, he returns to the Caribbean with his wife to build a retirement home on a plot of land they’ve purchased. He looks forward to inviting family to enjoy the home and the fruit trees he’ll plant, and perhaps join him spearfishing for red snapper.