A young Waffle House worker who was going to miss his high school graduation got a helping hand from his manager and other Waffle House staff. Now that new graduate is settling into his first semester of college.
Timothy Harrison’s Waffle House manager, Cedric Hampton, posted a late September update about the Center Point, Alabama, teen, whom he has called “a fine young man … a hard worker, very polite.”
Harrison is now enrolled full-time in an area community college and Hampton helped him move into this dorm.
“He is loving every part of college life and he is doing really well in his classes,” Hampton posted to Facebook a few weeks ago, giving followers an update on Harrison’s status. Harrison had wanted to continue working at the Waffle House while enrolled in school but his manager said he should focus on his studies to begin with.
In his original post about Harrison making it to his graduation, Hampton wrote that the teenager didn’t have a cap and gown or a way to get to his high school ceremony. Waffle House staff bought him dress clothes, figured out how to get his cap and gown, and drove him to the ceremony location just in time.
The story eventually made the national news and got the attention of administrators at Lawson State Community College.
One of the college’s staff, Kesha James, director of the distance education department, said that when she hears about stories like Harrison’s, she listens for the “what’s next.”
“I did not hear any plans for college,” James said. So Lawson State Community College not only helped him enroll for the upcoming semester but provided him with a scholarship.
Now James is keeping an eye on Harrison.
“Dr. James is responsible for getting Tim his scholarship and has now become like a second mother to him and making sure he is staying so that he will successfully graduate in the upcoming years,” wrote Hampton in his Facebook update.
Other Waffle House employees have made headlines for their work ethic. One waitress who had her baby with her while covering a double shift at a Waffle House in North Carolina received a generous tip from a country music star in August 2021. Back in 2018, a Texas Waffle House waitress, who stopped in the middle of her busy shift to help an elderly man cut up his food, received a college scholarship.
Good luck to Harrison in his first semester at college!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
