By Robert W. Dalton
Maggie Royce ’22 never imagined that a Chick-fil-A gift card she received in 2020 would lead to more than a chicken sandwich and waffle fries.
Royce won the gift card through a women’s ministry. Her mother suggested that Royce investigate internship opportunities with the company.
“I’d never really thought about it,” says Royce, an English major from Cary, North Carolina. “I started the interview process last August. It was an extensive process with five or six interviews.”
Royce was selected for an internship with Chick-fil-A’s enterprise innovation team, which is housed at the company’s support center in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is hosting about 75 interns this summer, but Royce is the only one with the enterprise innovation team.
“We assist with any potential innovation process,” Royce says. “We walk through the design process with different groups. Departments from all across the company come to us so we can lead them through the process.”
Royce didn’t know anyone in Atlanta when she headed off to begin the internship. She’s sharing an apartment with three other interns. Although they’re working 40 hours a week, they’re also taking time to explore the city.
“We’ve been to every park in the city, and we’ve checked out some great restaurants,” she says.
Royce says her three years at Wofford prepared her for the internship.
“It’s really exciting to take the knowledge I’ve gained from Wofford and translate that to the real world,” Royce says. “My professors helped me to think outside the box, and my entire job right now is helping people see how we can think differently.”
Royce says she already is seeing the benefits of the internship.
“I’ve grown a lot in my communication skills, and I’ve learned a great deal about the innovation process as a whole,” she says. “It’s an amazing feeling to go through a Chick-fil-A drive through, put my hands on the product and know I had an impact.”