Feature  

Chick-­fil-­A  Helps  Employees  Attend  College    

“I  feel  so  very  thankful  that  I  work  in  a  place  that  would  help  me  go  to  college  

and  give  me  a  chance  at  a  bright  future,”  says  Alex  Gillie,  a  current  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  

employee.    

Gillie,  who  works  at  a  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  location  in  Eastchase,  Ala.,  is  a  recipient  of  

the  S.  Truett  Cathy  Scholar  Award.  The  award,  which  is  given  to  25  employees  per  

year,  is  $1,000  that  goes  toward  the  tuition  at  the  college  or  university  of  the  

recipients  choosing.  In  this  case,  Gillie’s  scholarship  went  towards  his  tuition  at  

Brigham  Young  University  in  Utah,  where  he  is  studying  engineering.  

Gillie  is  the  fourth  recipient  of  the  scholarship  at  the  Eastchase,  Ala.  location,  

which  is  right  outside  of  Montgomery,  Ala.  All  four  recipients  worked  under  the  

same  manager,  Gary  Soriono.  Soriono  has  been  with  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  for  over  30  years,  

and  was  even  there  the  first  year  the  award  was  given.    

“One  of  the  first  25  awards  of  the  S.  Truett  Cathy  Scholar  Award  went  to  one  

of  my  employees.  I  am  very  proud  of  all  of  them,  including  Alex,  who  personifies  the  

qualities  the  S.  Truett  Cathy  Scholar  Award  was  created  to  recognize,”  says  Soriono.    

Two  other  Alabama  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  student  employees  received  the  award,  

bringing  the  total  Alabama  recipients  of  the  award  over  the  years  to  30.  

Another  scholarship  recipient  this  year  is  Keesa  Williams,  an  employee  at  a  

location  in  Millington,  Tenn.  She  is  now  studying  history  at  the  University  of  

Memphis.    

“I  think  it  is  great  that  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  provides  scholarships  to  employees  like  me  

to  help  them  reach  their  dreams,”  says  Williams.  

Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  always  gives  back  to  its  employees  and  the  community.  This  can  

be  traced  back  to  1982  when  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  founder,  S.  Truett  Cathy,  and  his  wife,  

Jeannette  set  up  the  WinShape  Foundation.  The  WinShape  Foundation’s  purpose  is  

to  strengthen  families  and  bring  people  closer  to  each  other.  But  it  does  so  much  

more  than  that.    Part  of  the  WinShape  foundation  is  the  WinShape  College  program.  

Since  it  began,  more  than  1,018  students  have  participated  in  it,  providing  each  of  

them  up  to  $4,000  annually  in  scholarship  money.    

The  WinShape  College  program  sparked  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  to  do  even  more,  which  is  

when  it  created  the  S.  Cathy  Truett  Scholar  Award.  The  owners  of  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A,  

including  Truett,  feel  very  strongly  about  education  and  giving  back,  which  is  why  

these  programs  are  a  perfect  thing  for  the  company  to  take  part  in.      

“For  several  generations  now  it  has  been  a  priority  for  me  to  encourage  and  

support  our  team  members  as  they  seek  to  further  their  education,”  says  Truett.    

Soriano  credits  the  success  of  the  scholarship  recipients  that  have  worked  

under  him  to  hard  work  and  the  ability  to  lead  while  working  in  a  team  setting.  The  

S.  Truett  Cathy  award  will  bring  all  the  recipients,  including  Gillie  and  Williams,  

closer  to  their  dreams.    

 

Sidebar:    

Only  66.2  percent  of  high  school  graduates  go  on  to  enroll  in  college.  Each  

year,  the  S.  Truett  Cathy  Scholar  award  provides  $1.2  million  to  employees  so  they  

can  continue  their  education.  So  far,  Chick-­‐fil-­‐A  has  donated  more  than  $30  million  

to  help  more  than  30,000  employees  attend  more  than  500  different  universities.