SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah students prepare to head back to school, one Alpine School District bus driver is preparing for her 17th year behind the wheel. But for Tracy Dean, driving a bus has never just been about transportation — it’s been about transformation.
Her story first captured hearts in 2018, when she began styling the hair of a quiet 11-year-old girl named Isabella Pieri. Isabella’s mother had passed away after battling a rare illness, and her father, Philip, left for work early each morning, doing his best to help Isabella navigate life’s daily routines — including hair care.
“I originally just gave her a crew cut because I didn’t know how,” Philip said in 2018. “It was all tangled and I couldn’t get it out for anything.”…