Student Wins $25,000 Chick-fil-A Scholarship

Rising junior Trevor Sconyers had no idea how a job at Chick-fil-A would change his life. Sconyers is from Lyons, Georgia, and is a front-of-house team leader and back-of-house team member at the Chick-fil-A in neighboring Vidalia. On March 17, he was a participant in what he thought was a virtual retreat with 11 other team members from across the country. But Georgia Southern alumnus and Chick-fil-A chairman and CEO Dan Cathy surprised the Zoom participants and announced each would receive a $25,000 True Inspiration Scholarship through the Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarships program.

“I was completely overwhelmed with emotion,” Sconyers said. “I was so happy and excited, I burst into tears from the overwhelming thought that I was going to graduate college debt-free.”

Sconyers is majoring in accounting and has minors in communication studies and nonprofit management. He has overcome many challenges as he pursued his education. As a child, his mother was injured in a car accident and she spent several months in
the hospital.

“After the recovery, she became highly addicted to drugs, which subsequently led me to become a caretaker for my sister,” said Sconyers, who is considering a career as a motivational speaker and an accountant. “I would like to use the story I have to inspire other youth that they can overcome their struggles, and I would also like to explore accounting as it would create a very stable lifestyle, something I have never had.”

The scholarship winner loves his job and said he never goes a day without feeling cared for or appreciated.

“I handle the daily operations of the business including taking orders, making food and serving guests,” he explained. “When I lead the team, I am in charge of managing daily operations through running breaks, putting people in positions, making setups for the day and overall, inspiring the team.”

Sconyers balances classes with a four-day work schedule. He commutes an hour from his hometown to the Statesboro Campus, but that could change this fall.

“With this scholarship, if everything works out with housing and hopefully working at the Chick-fil-A on campus, I hope to move to Statesboro to relieve some of the stress of commuting,” he said.

When he graduated from Toombs County High School, Sconyers had accumulated 36 hours of dual enrollment at Southeastern Technical College. He expects to graduate from Georgia Southern in 2023. — Sandra Bennett