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A 19-year-old college student gets help from an OnStar Advisor when her check engine light comes on during her drive to campus
It was a beautiful, sunny summer day when Sierra T. set out to drive herself back to college three hours away from home. But despite the pleasant weather, her mom, Kirstie, was still concerned. It was the 19-year-old’s first time driving alone from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, back to school in Joplin. To ease her worries just a little, Kirstie asked her daughter to text when she arrived safely.
“About 45 minutes later, Sierra pulled over and called me because the check engine light came on. I was so worried,” Kirstie says. “She was in a rural area with farms and farms and more farms. We had her drive to a truck stop.”
By the time she arrived at the truck stop, her parents remembered Sierra’s 2015 Chevrolet Cruze had OnStar.
“I was so worried. She was in a rural area with farms and farms and more farms.”
Sierra was scared because she never had to use OnStar in the two years since getting her vehicle. But she told the OnStar Advisor what was happening.
“First, they asked her if she was safe. Then they told her there was nothing to worry about, which made me feel better,” Kirstie says, crying in relief. “It was a small thing, but it was also a big thing. It made her independent. It made her grow up a teeny tiny bit. It was hand-holding but not from her parents. It made a huge difference for us.”
While the issue with Sierra’s car wasn’t significant, it did relieve her parents stress to know someone was there to help her.
“Joplin was hit by a tornado a few years ago, and the college campus was impacted. All these safety things concern you,” Kirstie says. “But by having OnStar in the car, she can get home and get what she needs 24/7. She can get police, ambulance, roadside service from that car. It’s a huge deal.”
“It was hand-holding but not from her parents. It made a huge difference for us.”
While Sierra was able to use OnStar in her vehicle, there’s now a way to bring key OnStar safety services everywhere your kids go, even if they don’t have their own vehicle on campus. The OnStar Guardian™ app
See how the Guardian app helped college freshman Evan R. after he and his friends were in a crash on campus hours from home.
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