Lemondrop

Do you remember any of your school bus drivers from when you were a kid? You would if Tanya Walters, 40, had been behind the wheel.

The Los Angeles bus driver has taken the idea of a school bus ride to a whole new level with her GodParents Youth Organization, which takes at-risk youth across the country to expose them to education and culture.

Why We Love Her: Walters, a single mom to a teenage son, got the idea for the group after realizing that she and other drivers had formed connections with the teenagers on their buses. A lot of the students came from troubled backgrounds and were failing school. Walters, who was called "The Godmother" because of how seriously she took her relationship with her two godchildren, enlisted a dozen staff members to organize 30-day treks for small groups of students.

But it's not a free ride: Students with a C average or below get three months to bring up their grades so they can go on the trip. There's also homework and tests along the way.

"In four months, you cannot play," Walters said of the students. "If you're failing, you need tutoring, on the weekends and after school."

Since the group began, GYO has traveled everywhere from Baltimore to Birmingham, New York to New Orleans, Charleston to Cincinnati. Walters isn't overseeing operations from a cushy office somewhere -- she still goes on the trips with the kids, who have grown in number now that GYO has expanded to other cities. Past participants are thriving: 25 of Walters' students now attend colleges around the country.

Quote: "They've survived a million things that we adults would only imagine going through," says Walters, of the students she mentors. "Once you turn that child around, it takes a lot of pressure to turn that child back. That's why I really try to reach out to the community to become community godparents. They're willing to stand up for these children."

Click here to watch a clip from Walters and some students on a trip to the Grand Canyon last summer.