WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. – Past NACS Chairman (2000) Dean Durling, president and CEO of QuickChek, shared an inspirational story with NACS a few weeks ago about an exceptional team member, Sebastian Galvez, and his journey to pursue a college education.
Galvez, a Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) scholarship recipient and student, shared his story at a recent United Way of Northern New Jersey event. “You could hear a pin drop when he spoke,” said RVCC Foundation Executive Director Ronnie Weyl.
During his remarks, Galvez said that he was raised on two principles to live by: always work hard and always give back. At the age of 4, he and his family of eight moved to the United States (Elizabeth, N.J.) from El Salvador. Crammed in a small house, Galvez reflected on the sacrifices his parents made to raise their family.
“As a young child, I didn’t understand the amount of work it took for my parents to be able to provide me with everything I needed. I didn’t understand the 80-plus hour weeks my dad had to work for almost seven years. I didn’t understand the sacrifices my mom had to make, running home after a long day at work that started at 4:30 in the morning and wouldn’t end until 9 or 10 at night, after she had driven me to all of my games, helped me with homework and projects, and ultimately never let me give anything in my life less than 110%.”
Today, Galvez more than understands the sacrifices his parents made for him, and how “they always wanted me to have the very best education so I could make a good life for myself. …Their fight is why I pushed myself to work three jobs, close to 70 hours a week, for months to raise money to pay for college. I worked this hard because I refused to let the sacrifices of my family go to waste.”
And thanks to his perseverance, while Galvez finishes up his degree at RVCC, he continues to work at a QuickChek convenience store in Hillsborough, N.J. “I can devote all of my efforts on going to school full-time, and can focus on what it will take to create my own business. To become the best man I can be, in hopes of one day helping as many as I can,” he shared.
“He will go far in life, and I know how grateful he is to QuickChek and to RVCC for helping him on his journey,” said Weyl of Galvez. “We are so proud of Sebastian and grateful to local businesses like QuickChek that employ our hardworking students, and give them flexible hours so they can pursue their education and better opportunities for long-term employment.”