Luke was working his normal shift and had been told ahead of time that camera crews from Chick-Fil-A corporate were coming to the restaurant to talk to employees for a promotion. Each one would be interviewed for about five minutes.
The crew was interviewing him, and he noticed a crowd gathering, but just thought the restaurant was getting busy. Then suddenly, the CEO of Chick-Fil-A, Andrew T. Cathy approached him and presented him with $ 25,000 scholarship! It was only then that he noticed,“ the crowd” that had gathered was actually his parents, siblings and friends.
“ My mom and dad cried,” says Luke. They were very proud of him for being chosen as one of 14 employees selected for this level of scholarship in the entire United States and Canada.
His parents were informed that Luke was going to receive the scholarship a few months earlier but were not allowed to tell anyone about it. Somehow, they managed to keep it under wraps. But when Luke’ s big day to receive the award came, he told his mom he was feeling really tired. Though he was planning to go to work anyway, she went into high gear to revive him with food, coffee and anything to give him energy and prevent him from calling off. Needless to say, he was feeling much more energetic after receiving the check.
Though Luke received a large scholarship, Chick-Fil-A also awards smaller amounts to 14,000 employees, totalling $ 26.4 million each year.
Luke is enrolled at Regent University in Virginia Beach, where he is majoring in Leadership Studies with a focus in Christian Ministry. He attends remotely, which is more cost effective and allows him to continue to work at Chick-Fil-A.
His selection was based on his grades, but also his community service hours which were considerable since he volunteers at his church on a regular basis.
“ It’ s an awesome place to work on just a day-to-day basis. The managers really pitch in and help. But more than that, they truly do invest in your future,” explains Luke. One of the managers, Johnny Carr, is the person who told him about the scholarship possibilities and encouraged him to apply.“ Without realizing it, Johnny taught me so much about leadership, just by watching him.”
The restaurant’ s franchisee, Brian Wenger, is another person Luke looks up to.“ He connects with all the workers, and we have a lot of employees. He not only knows their names, but he also knows about their lives and what’ s important to them.”
After receiving the check, Luke also received a Mac computer( wrapped in a giant Chick-Fil-A sauce packet). He also received leadership training in Atlanta, with three, all-inclusive trips, where he was assigned a mentor. n
OAKMONT-PENN HILLS-VERONA | SUMMER 2025 11