Servant's Heart Rewarded with Scholarship

Peyton Edwards never saw it coming. “I was told that I was just getting interviewed for a campaign that we're doing here,” recalled Peyton. “So, when I walked out and I saw the cameras, I was like, okay, cool.”

This March, the 24-year-old student was one of 14 Chick-fil-A's employees across North America to receive the True Inspiration Scholarship. CEO, Andrew Cathy, presented Peyton with a $25,000 check and a new laptop. He shard, "She has such a positive, um, attitude about the future and wants to have an impact on the lives of other people.” 

Peyton started working full-time at the Virginia Beach location when she was 16. “When she first came to us, she had a hungry heart to really serve and to work hard,” said Chick-fil-A supervisor, David Cheney. “We just built upon that. We've gradually just kind of kept investing in her, trusting her more with the business, giving her more responsibility.”

We caught up with Peyton a few weeks after the event. She was still taking it in. “I was, yeah, very surprised, very shocked, very grateful. The scholarship was great and then I saw the laptop and I was like, that's even cooler!”

Peyton now holds a management position but says it’s more than just a job. “I’m just super passionate about the company and the values that they hold,” she stated.

So, when it came time to pick a school to earn her bachelor’s degree, she chose Regent University. “Everything that I looked at…aligned with like my goals for the future, like my faith…all the signs pointed to Regent,” explained Peyton. “I felt like that’s what the Lord was like calling me to.”

In the fall of 2021, Peyton enrolled in Regent’s School of Business. As predicted, it wasn’t easy. “I thought that it was pretty impossible. I’ve heard people talk about working full-time and going to school…like how stressful it is,” Peyton explained. “Time management is so important. I realized that it was more tangible than I thought.”

She says her professors have been a great help in her journey, in more ways than one. “At Regent it’s different. It’s like, how can I pray for you? How can I give you resources?”

Peyton plans on staying with Chick-fil-A after she graduates in 2026 with a degree in business management. She says Regent continues to play a large role in her success.

“I'm able to apply the principles that I've learned with good leadership at my job. I think Regent has done an excellent job of just instilling that in almost every course.”