Huebner Family McDonald’s celebrates general manager’s accomplishment with ceremony

GARNER, N.C., April 27, 2019: As college seniors lay out their cap and gowns for their May graduations, many will not only be preparing for their future careers, they will also be making a plan of how to pay back their student loans. This isn’t the case for local McDonald’s general manager, Tiffany Fernandez. Next month, she will graduate from Colorado Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in both Human Resources and Marketing, completely debt free.

Fernandez has been employed locally with the Huebner Family McDonald’s franchise organization since 2011, and with McDonald’s as a whole for 13 years. She is the General Manager at the McDonald’s on Timber Drive in Garner, N.C. Fernandez is currently enrolled in McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity™, which is a comprehensive education program to help people succeed and grow, both personally and professionally. Fernandez was able to take advantage of two key parts of the Archways program: College Connection and Tuition Assistance.

The connection program helps employees find the most efficient and affordable path to a two or four-year degree. Through the program, McDonald’s has aligned itself with four different colleges, which offer discounted tuition rates to eligible McDonald’s employees. In Fernandez’s case, she chose Colorado Technical University, which paid 43 percent of her tuition.

Fernandez was able to rely on Archway’s Tuition Assistance to pay for the rest. Eligible McDonald’s employees who utilize the Tuition Assistance program can receive up to $2,500 a year, which equals up to $10,000 over the course of a four-year degree.

Education programs, such as Archways to Opportunity™, prove to be critical for people pursuing higher education. The nation’s student loan debt in 2019 is the highest it has ever been at $1.5 trillion, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. North Carolina rounds out the top 10 states with the highest student loan balances at $36.3 billion.

“We are committed to helping our employees further their education and achieve their dreams. Archways to Opportunity™makes this possible,” said local owner/operators, Fred and Doris Huebner of Huebner Family McDonald’s. “We are so proud of Tiffany and all she has accomplished, and we’re excited to honor this incredible milestone with a graduation ceremony, so she can be recognized and celebrated by her family and peers.”

On Thursday, May 2ndat 12 p.m., Huebner Family McDonald’s will host Fernandez’s co-workers and family for a special graduation ceremony to celebrate this incredible accomplishment. The event will be held at the local McDonald’s office at 52 Glen Road, Suite 101 in Garner, N.C.

Since the Archways to Opportunity™program began in 2015, more than 26,000 McDonald’s employees have been awarded college tuition assistance and more $58 million has been given toward high school and college tuition assistance. In North Carolina alone, nearly 900 employees have been awarded tuition assistance, amounting in $1,717,420.82.