Daly City high school student surprised with $25,000 scholarship from Chick-fil-A

DALY CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- ABC7 News was invited to capture the moment a Chick-fil-A employee in Daly City was awarded a $25,000 college scholarship.

"I want to present you with a $25,000 Chick-fil-A scholarship," said the presenter, CEO Andrew Cathy.

Noel Hwang is one of 14 "True Inspiration" scholarship recipients across North America.

He will be a first-generation college student and is the son of immigrant parents.

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During his time on the job, Hwang helped to launch a pilot, the "Leader Academy" program within his local restaurant, while also facilitating community service projects.

"Seeing this much money to support my future education, I was so thankful. I almost cried, but my defense mechanism, when I feel overwhelmed, is laughing, so I started laughing instead, and I was just so overjoyed, so thankful," Hwang said.

He will graduate high school in May and is still deciding where he will attend college in the fall.

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