Kirstie Terry was a bit nervous when her 19-year-old daughter, Sierra, left to drive herself to college three hours away from home on a beautiful August day. That’s because it was Sierra’s first time driving alone back to campus. To ease her worries just a little, Kirstie asked her daughter to text when she arrived safely at school.

“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.*

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.

“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.”