While most high schoolers find themselves focused on sports or final exams, Deonte Ellis of Hampton County had already found his calling behind the wheel of a 40-foot commuter bus.
As the youngest operator at Palmetto Breeze Transit, Ellis started shuttling passengers across Allendale, Hampton, Jasper, Beaufort and Colleton Counties when he was 18 years old, stretching from the small towns of Estill and Scotia to the popular vacation destinations of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island.
Now, having crossed the stage for graduation in May and turning 19 this June, Ellis has quickly become one of the most recognizably young faces in public transportation across the South Carolina Lowcountry…