From Homeless to Mrs. Maryland 2026: A Journey of Faith, Resilience, and Purpose
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
By Charlene Inez Arnold
Mrs. Maryland 2026 | Founder, DriveHER Foundation | Certified CDL Examiner
I never imagined my life would become a testimony of resilience, faith, and the power of rebuilding from the ground up. Years ago, I found myself at a truck stop with my five children — my 7-year-old, my 5-year-old, and my three babies under the age of two. We were homeless, exhausted, and I was completely broken in every way a woman can be broken. I remember looking into the rearview mirror at my children sleeping and whispering, “God, if You get me out of this, I’ll spend the rest of my life helping women who feel as lost as I feel right now.”
That moment wasn’t just a breaking point — it was the birthplace of my calling my ministry.
Today, I stand as Mrs. Maryland 2026, a Certified CDL Examiner, and the Founder of the DriveHER Foundation, where I help women rebuild their lives through CDL training, housing support, food assistance, transportation, childcare help, and emotional strength-building. But before I became “The CDL Queen,” I was simply a mother trying to survive.
The trucking industry changed everything for me. It became the vehicle — literally and spiritually — that carried me out of poverty, instability, and fear. When I earned my CDL and began my journey in transportation, my entire life shifted.
I not only found financial stability, but I found confidence, purpose, and a path forward for my family. Eventually, I built a successful trucking company called Dallas Capacity and later iBest Trucking academy in Texas, expanded into Maryland, and founded DriveHER to create the support system I once prayed someone would create for me.
My leadership did not come from boardrooms or titles. It was forged in the quiet, painful moments where giving up would have been easier. It grew from feeding my babies in the front seat of a truck, from wiping tears in the dark, from learning to hold onto hope when everything else slipped away. God used that season to shape me into a woman who leads with compassion, boldness, and an unshakeable belief that every woman deserves a second chance.
At DriveHER Foundation, we meet women at the intersection of survival and possibility. Many of them are single mothers, reentry women, young adults aging out of shelters, or women escaping impossible circumstances. I see them — because I was them. When a woman gains stability, job readiness, transportation access, and child-support services, she doesn’t just transform her own life… she transforms her children’s future and ends generational hardship.
Being crowned Mrs. Maryland 2026 is not the final chapter — it’s the microphone God handed me. It’s my opportunity to speak loudly for women who are still whispering for help. Through my platform, “Shift Into Significance™,” I teach that pain can become purpose and a detour can become destiny. Through gratitude, glamour, and grit, I show women what resilience looks like wrapped in confidence and crowned with possibility.
I represent Maryland, but I serve women nationwide. My dream is to expand DriveHER into a full national program with pink training trucks, transitional housing partnerships, childcare support, and scholarship pipelines so no woman has to choose between surviving and succeeding.
When people ask me how I made it from a truck stop to the stage as Mrs. Maryland, my answer is simple: faith, resilience, and a promise I made to God at my lowest point — that if He lifted me, I would lift women, too. And I plan to keep that promise for the rest of my life.
Connect With Charlene
Instagram: @cdlexaminer
TikTok: @cdlqueen214
Facebook: Charlene Inez Arnold
LinkedIn: Charlene I. Arnold
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