天涯海角社区 business students were finalists in the 2025 America250PA Direct Effect Innovation Challenge (DEIC). The DEIC is a multi-round competition that challenges students from Pennsylvania鈥檚 postsecondary institutions 鈥渢o design and develop integrated marketing campaigns that explore solutions to real-life challenges and questions.鈥�

The 2025 DEIC consisted of three rounds, the final round held in person at the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, PA, in October 2025. 天涯海角社区 was one of five colleges invited to the final round. Faculty member Janelle Curtis-Beaman accompanied students Philip Oo, Matthew Mika, Colin O鈥橞rien, and JiEun Oh to Harrisburg to present their campaign.

This year鈥檚 theme was “Miles of Impact: America’s First Superhighway.鈥� Students were challenged to 鈥渄esign and pitch original integrated marketing campaigns that bring the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s story to life.鈥� 天涯海角社区 students presented their campaign, 鈥淲here did you come from, where did you go?鈥� to celebrate 85 years of the Turnpike connecting Pennsylvanians while looking forward to the future of travel. They pitched a user-generated marketing campaign that would employ a statewide scavenger hunt that would encourage users to share experiences that promote connection, heritage, and progress.

天涯海角社区 is proud to offer opportunities for experiential learning like this, giving students the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom in tactile ways that bolster their resume and give them confidence as they enter the job market. 

There is a growing contingent of 天涯海角社区 graduates for whom 鈥淐airn Special” immediately evokes involving all five senses. It鈥檚 requested like a secret menu item with a flash of a Cairn student ID. Buy a large drink and a large fry, and get an original sandwich or eight-count nugget for free. Today鈥檚 students know the schedule: Monday at Oxford Valley. Tuesday at Langhorne. Thursday at Neshaminy.

The Cairn Special remains the cheapest meal a college student can buy off campus. And while that is attractive, it is not what keeps students coming back. The food is good, and it serves as the foundation for something even better. A Chick-fil-A booth has served as a mainstay for many Cairn students鈥� community building and cheap first dates. And for a select few, it introduced them to a future career as a Chick-fil-A owner-operator.

Chick-fil-A鈥檚 franchisee selection process is extremely competitive. It receives an average of 40,000 applications per year and from that accepts little more than 100, substantiating the claim that it is easier to get into Harvard than it is to be selected to be a Chick-fil-A operator. Despite these slim chances, 天涯海角社区 alumni still represent among the operator ranks. 2026 includes the opening of the fifth owned and operated restaurant by a 天涯海角社区 alumnus.

These four men who have been selected to lead come from various backgrounds and took vastly different career paths toward ownership. The common thread? Their 天涯海角社区 experience was a pivotal moment on their trajectory to Chick-fil-A ownership鈥攆rom business degrees and peer relationships to introducing them to their very first chicken sandwich.

Alex Crawford 鈥�17/G鈥�17
Rochester, NY

The Fall of 2013 is when Alex began to study Bible and business at 天涯海角社区. It鈥檚 also when he had his first Chick-fil-A sandwich. Chick-fil-A was a staple of his Cairn experience. While he was inspired by the culture (and the food!), he did not take a direct path to franchising. Alex interned with a local Geico office in his final semester at Cairn. He was then invited to join their Emerging Leaders program after graduation. This began a career that would require his family to move several times. Alex and his wife, Lindsey (McCulloch) 鈥�17, moved five times as Alex moved up the Geico ranks. Their family eventually settled in Buffalo, NY, where Alex sat at the helm of the corporation鈥檚 customer service.

Alex is a lifelong New Yorker hailing from Long Island, but despite being back in his home state, the freezing temperatures of Western New York were a significant adjustment. The Crawfords did, how ever, quickly warm up to and fall in love with the people and culture of the area. Instead of seeing Buffalo as a transplant location for Alex鈥檚 career, they saw it as a place where they wanted to plant deep roots for their family.

While Alex wanted to stay in Western New York long term, that did not mean he wanted to stay with the corporation that originally brought him there. He enjoyed his work at Geico, but he ultimately decided to pursue a dream he had considered for several years: to own and operate a Chick-fil-A. He saw this career path as 鈥渢he clearest alignment of my MBA and Bible degrees.鈥�

Deciding to apply was just the start. Over the course of two and half years, Alex participated in several phone interviews; flew to Chick-fil-A headquarters four times for in-person meetings; and participated in a stress test, where he was thrown into a Chick-fil-A during the lunch rush to see how he would react and adapt. Chick-fil-A has high standards for the character of their operators, so extensive interviews with applicant references are central to the selection process. Among his professional references were Dave Heffernan, the owner of two of Cairn鈥檚 local Chick-fil-As, and Dr. Tony Hurst, part-time faculty member at Cairn.

Many operator-hopefuls work full-time at a Chick-fil-A location for years before submitting a franchisee application. Alex was not in that position, but he understood the advantage of direct team member experience. In the midst of interviewing, he decided to get a part-time job at a local Chick-fil-A. He worked one, eight-hour shift before he got the call to open a store of his own.

Alex is part of the 20% of Chick-fil-A operators who were selected outside of the CFA leadership development program. This minority position has several somewhat obvious challenges: He was selected to be an operator with out an intimate knowledge of every part of the menu, without the experiences of running a shift during a peak mealtime or navigating the challenges of being short-staffed. But at the same time, his experiences at Geico translate directly to some of the most important qualities of any Chick-fil-A operator: excelling in customer service, leading by serving, and using data-driven approaches to innovate and adapt to challenges. And since he
did work one shift, he already had a name tag.

Chick-fil-A Citygate opened in Rochester, NY, on February 5, 2026. The business of selling chicken and waffle fries is still brand new, but his seasoned leadership has him well-positioned to lead his team to serve his community well.

Brad Burkholder WWC鈥�06/鈥�09
Harrisburg, PA

When Brad graduated high school, he decided to leave his home in Lebanon, PA, to commit to a year at Wisconsin Wilderness Campus. This year of studying the Bible in the great outdoors was what Brad describes as 鈥渢he best year of my life,鈥� and it set him on a trajectory that would give him a career and the opportunity to return to his Central PA roots.

Upon finishing his year at WWC, Brad chose to continue his studies on the main campus as a business major. It was here in Langhorne that he first became acquainted with Chick-fil-A. In his undergrad years, he attended three Chick-fil-A grand openings. These events combined two of his favorite things: camping out in a tent, and free food.

The hard-earned free meal coupons on top of the Cairn Special student discount meant that Brad had every reason to spend an above-average amount of time at Chick-fil-A Oxford Valley Road. Through these visits, he built a relationship with the store鈥檚 owner, Dave Heffernan. Seeing that Brad was a business major, Dave suggested the obvious: Brad should pursue a career with Chick-fil-A. Brad was not interested in that: 鈥淚 said, 鈥業鈥檓 not doing fast food.鈥� I just like eating it.鈥�

This opposition did not last more than a few months after graduation. The summer after he graduated, Brad was ready to get married and needed a job. Dave connected him with a new operator at Chick-fil-A Exeter in Reading, PA. It was in this restaurant that he began to truly see Chick-fil-A as more than 鈥渇ast food.鈥� The turning point was a guest interaction with a grandfather and his grandson:

鈥淗e said, 鈥楥an you tell my grandson about the story of Chick-fil-A? Because it鈥檚 such an amazing story.鈥� So, I shared the history and core values of all Chick-fil-A restaurants. . . . That鈥檚 when I realized this is a different company. This isn鈥檛 just some fast food career. There鈥檚 more to it.鈥�

It was after this interaction that Brad 鈥渓ocked in,鈥� studying CFA training videos after late-night closing shifts and personally committing to being the best employee he could be. His operator noticed this shift and鈥攍ike Dave did just a couple of years before him鈥攈e encouraged Brad to pursue a long-term career with the company. This time, Brad was ready to heed that advice. After 1.5 years at Chick-fil-A Exeter, Brad was selected to be the interim manager of the Chick-fil-A in the Berkshire Mall. A year later, he became its operator at just 25 years old.

Brad is quick to share that his time at the mall wasn鈥檛 glamorous. The Berkshire Mall location was one of the lowest volume restaurants in the entire chain. What this location did not offer in profits, it offered in what money can鈥檛 buy: a chance to be humbled at a young age, space to make mistakes, and an acute awareness that he was in the right career. It also offered the opportunity to work near his hometown, a non-negotiable for his growing family. If he were ever to leave the mall, it would be without uprooting his family鈥檚 life in Central PA. Four years passed. Then God opened a new door: Brad was selected to operate a new Chick-fil-A location in Harrisburg, just 20 minutes from his childhood home.

Brad celebrated ten years at Chick-fil-A Lindle Road in March 2026. Looking back over the past decade, one of the highlights has been the freedom he has to dynamically integrate his faith into his work. He has led devotionals in board meetings, prayed with his staff, and hosted Bible studies in his restaurant. 鈥淚f I were to create my own restaurant or business, I would build it on the same values as Chick-fil-A. I am passionate about Chick-fil-A because they align with my values and beliefs. That鈥檚 how I know I鈥檓 in the right place.”

Josh Maxwell 鈥�06/G鈥�12鈥�14 and Luke Trader 鈥�10
Egg Harbor Twp, NJ and Christiana, DE

By the time Josh graduated high school, he had been living out of his car for nearly two years. He left home at 16 because of his father鈥檚 addiction to drugs and alcohol. So, when he arrived at Cairn to begin the youth and family ministries program, he found a home鈥攂oth physically on campus and in the relationships he built with Dr. Matt McAlack and his future wife, Corrie. It was at Cairn that he also built a friendship with classmate Luke Trader 鈥�10, who would later be the one to bring him into a career at Chick-fil-A.

Josh and Luke first met on a plane to Germany. They were seated next to each other on the initial flight to the University-sponsored Martin Luther tour over spring break in 2005. Luke was a full-time youth pastor completing his degree one course at a time, so their paths did not cross much on campus before or after this trip. But the friendship built on this trip would continue to grow through the years that Josh volunteered in Luke鈥檚 youth ministry.

A few years after graduation, Josh and Corrie were married and serving at a church in Nevada. It was there Josh decided that full-time vocational ministry was not where he wanted to be, but he didn鈥檛 know exactly what he should do instead. He moved his family to New Jersey, to be near Corrie鈥檚 family and figure out what to do next. That鈥檚 when Luke offered him the opportunity to work with him again, this time at Chick-fil-A.

Luke had recently left full-time ministry and was working for Chick-fil-A Corporate, serving as an interim manager at the Quaker Bridge Mall location. When Josh told him that he moved into the area and was looking for work, Luke offered him a $10/hour team member position, which Josh quickly accepted. Several months later, Luke transferred to another mall location in Wilmington, DE, and he invited Josh to come with him. That offer was much harder to say yes to, but he still accepted:

鈥淚 was driving an hour and 20 minutes each way to work in my 1992 Ford Explorer,鈥� said Josh. 鈥淚 was working 60, 70, 80鈥揾our weeks, but I didn鈥檛 feel I was competitive enough to become an owner/operator.鈥�

To bolster his resume, he returned to school full-time. He transferred to a restaurant in Delran, NJ, and used the time he saved on his commute to earn an MBA degree from Cairn, graduating in 2014. Degree in hand, he felt prepared to enter the candidate pool. The following year, he accepted the offer to become the owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A in Jackson, TN.

Josh operated Chick-fil-A Old Hickory Mall for three years. In his first year, he earned the regional Rookie of the Year designation, Symbol of Success, and Champions Club鈥攊nternal awards for Chick-fil-A Operators who hit certain sales and profit quotas year over year. In 2018, he returned to New Jersey to take over as Operator of Chick-fil-A Egg Harbor Township. As for Luke, he became the Operator of Chick-fil-A Christiana in 2016 and, as of April 2025, Chick-fil-A University Plaza in Newark, DE.

You can look at Josh and Luke鈥檚 stories and see two youth pastors that left the ministry. In a sense that鈥檚 true. But if you think that means they are no longer doing ministry, you鈥檇 be mistaken. Service is at the center of Chick-fil-A鈥檚 culture; they call it 鈥渟econd-mile service,鈥� echoing Jesus鈥� call from the Sermon on the Mount. This happens every day, all day between Chick-fil-A team members and guests. But it has the potential for even more impact when the operator goes the extra mile for his employees:

鈥淲e want to have a positive influence on all guests who come through the drive-thru鈥攚hich is only two to three minutes a visit,鈥� said Josh. 鈥淏ut as an operator, I have six to eight hours a day, six days a week where I can make an impact on my staff.鈥�

Both Josh and Luke have been very successful over the 10+ years that they have operated their restaurants. It is the result of hard work and a commitment to excellence. While this has sometimes been celebrated with accolades, it isn鈥檛 what is most important:

鈥淚t鈥檚 not about who has the most sales and who can be the best. It鈥檚 better to ask the questions, 鈥楬ow are we serving people, and how are we serving God?鈥� It鈥檚 an awesome opportunity to be a part of a business that asks those questions and to be able answer them faithfully.鈥�

When Kenneth Mercadante 鈥�18 graduated from the business administration program at Cairn, he had in mind to one day be a business owner. He did not, however, have any intention of owning his family鈥檚 business.

Ken鈥檚 father began Dura-Plex, Inc. in 1972, a small home renovation business in New Jersey. While it would in some ways be natural for Ken to follow in his father鈥檚 footsteps, he had no interest. Growing up, he watched his father experience the grueling challenges of working in the home improvement industry, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. He wanted to follow his father鈥檚 example of business ownership, but this particular industry was off the table, at least so he thought.

Ken began working at Jersey Mike鈥檚 Subs shortly before graduation, with a goal of one day becoming a franchisee. While he enjoyed much of the work there, he decided the casual restaurant business was ultimately not for him. It was at this same time that his dad approached him and his brother Anthony about buying Dura-Plex. More willing than he was once before, and after much prayerful consideration, Ken left Jersey Mike鈥檚 and bought the business with his brother in 2020. 

Over the past five years, Ken has learned a lot about the business of leading people. Dura-Plex is a small business, but the nature of their work requires a large number of staff. Business ownership comes with a long list of responsibilities, but Ken believes that person management is one of the most time-consuming but important investments. This is why his faith in Christ is so central to his business operations. As Ken shared, 鈥淵our team is relying on you as a leader everyday. Your mood sets the tone, and your work ethic is being used as an example. You need to be completely invested and interested in your people in order to run a successful business.鈥�

His faith also directs the way Dura-Plex engages their customers. In an industry where large corporate companies play tricky sales games or pressure customers, Dura-Plex is committed to transparent pricing and a customer-first culture. Whether roofing, siding, decking, doors, or windows, most of Dura-Plex鈥檚 services are those that their customers will do once in their lives. These projects are important investments, and Ken and his team are committed to treating every project with that same level of value. Operating on these principles, Ken is pressing forward in his goal to make Dura-Plex New Jersey’s most trusted exterior remodel company.

Sabrina-Rose (Mason) Benedict 鈥�18 has always described herself as 鈥渃rafty.鈥� Shortly after graduation, she was working as an office assistant and looking for a new hobby to do in her spare time. She picked up a few skeins of yarn and taught herself how to make a finger-knitted blanket using a YouTube tutorial. After making a few and sharing her final results online, she found herself being commissioned to make more blankets for friends and family. With their encouragement, she opened 鈥淪ab鈥檚 Blankets鈥� and began selling at local craft shows.听

To pair with the blankets, Sabrina also began making pillows. One night, while sitting on her couch in the middle of pillow-making, she couldn鈥檛 help but think that the half-done pillow resembled an octopus. She reworked her pillow pattern into an octopus stuffie pattern (appropriately named 鈥淥llie鈥�), and once stuffies were on the brain, she created patterns for several plush characters including Beatrice the Bumblebee, Popper the Penguin, and Willie the Whale. These stuffie patterns quickly became her best-seller and business exploded, leading Sabrina to change her business name to 鈥淪ab鈥檚 Stuffies鈥� in 2022.

Sabrina鈥檚 business growth can be largely attributed to her social media presence. On @sabsstuffies, Sabrina promotes her products, shares finger-knitting basics and solutions to common issues, and gives viewers a glimpse of the unique circumstances related to being a crafter and business owner. Through this, Sabrina has built an online community of crafters (over 1.5 million strong) to teach, learn from, and share with.听

Running a business with such a large online presence comes with challenges. Among the thousands of positive comments and shows of support, dissenting voices inevitably make themselves known. Sabrina shared that it is easy to let these comments destroy your confidence in your work, but 鈥渉aving a broader community of people that are constantly speaking life and encouragement to me helps drown out the negative noise when it arises.鈥� This community is something that she values most about her business model and reminds her of the community she shared on the cross country team and with her roommates and friends at Cairn.

With over 15,000 sales and counting, Sab鈥檚 Stuffies shows no signs of slowing down. Making the most of her toddlers鈥� nap times, Sabrina is continuing to add to her line of products, film tutorials, and sell at local craft markets. She currently has over 23 patterns released and has plans to launch at least 10 more in 2025. 

Abigail (White) Edman ’21 is a Rhode Island native who always loved the beach. Growing up, she found that all major beach brands were influenced by the West Coast and didn鈥檛 reflect the unique experience of East Coast beach towns. The dream of creating an East Coast beach brand burned in the back of her mind for years until her husband, Caleb Edman 鈥�22, encouraged her to make it a reality. The Sundance Company was born in Summer 2022.

Sundance is a distinctly East Coast swim and beachwear brand that is inspired by New England summers. Abigail designs sustainable swimwear that is made from recycled materials and produced in small batches. In addition to her East Coast wear, she will also offer limited time runs that reflect other coastal destinations she’s visited, such as Costa Rica, where she studied abroad during her undergraduate studies in the School of Business.

What started out as a small direct to consumer e-commerce business became a brick and mortar store in April 2024. Set in the bustling vacation spot of downtown Newport, The Sundance Company stands just a half-mile from the beach. With only 200 square feet of retail space, Abigail has had to come up with many creative solutions to make the most of every inch of space available. The limited space has not limited her sales, though. Having a beachtown storefront has increased her sales and placed her within a network of other local business owners who support and encourage one another.

Her faith in Christ impacts every decision she makes for her business. It is the reason why the shop is closed on Sunday mornings. It prompts her to write Bible verses on packages before she ships out a new order. It is her motivation for thinking carefully about fashion and making conscious decisions to source products ethically, combat overconsumption, and steward the earth鈥檚 resources well. As the name suggests, Sundance is positioned to be a bright light in the community that conducts business with excellence and integrity.

In the future, Abigail wants to see her brand grow enough to the point that she can take a step back out of the day-to-day operations and focus solely on design and development. But for now, she is grateful for every day she has been given to build a brand that brings attention and gives back to the East Coast beaches that shaped her.  

Steven Bowles 鈥�03 had dreams to work for himself and run a business of his own, but he didn鈥檛 rush to get there. Graduating with a degree in business administration in 2003, he spent several years in sales and business development before transitioning into a career of wealth transfer planning. 

Five years into this new career, he mentioned to his wife, Christiana (Melillo) Bowles 鈥�04, that this was the industry in which he wanted to strike out on his own, but he didn鈥檛 think he had the experience or credentials quite yet to do so. He decided to pursue additional credentials and broadened his responsibilities at his employer to gain the experience needed. After two years, his employer needed to suddenly close their doors, giving Steven the final push he needed to fly solo. He opened in Fall 2022.听

Catalyst is a life insurance advisory group that takes a personalized and collaborative approach to wealth transfer planning. As a Chartered Life Underwriter, Steven offers independent advice for advanced planning and life insurance to help clients choose the right policy based on individual needs, understand terms and conditions, and navigate the claims process. He also manages a number of high net worth clients and assists them with their wealth transfer planning. 

While it is part of the challenge of business ownership, one thing that Steven enjoys the most about working for himself is the ability to make quick decisions. He鈥檚 the boss, which means that he has the opportunity to make business decisions as quickly and efficiently as he desires. The 鈥減ower to say 鈥榶es鈥欌�� is something he enjoys and has been good for elevating the profile of his business on several podcasts. 

The strategic emphasis that he places on networking has only been further enriched by his growing circle of like minded clients and partners who share both a faith in Christ and a desire to do business well. This community of believers is something he had during his undergraduate studies but had been missing for the first few decades of his career, and he is very grateful to have these relationships supporting his work once again.

In an industry often 鈥渨rought with confusion,鈥� Steven enjoys bringing clarity and peace to his clients as they make long term financial decisions. He desires to continue to build a business that honors the Lord and, one day, have the opportunity to pass his business on to his sons.