Cars

Alabama college student walks 20 miles to his first day of work and his boss gives him a free car

Published on Dec 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM (UTC+4)
by Grace Donohoe

Last updated on Dec 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Emma Matthews

This college student in Alabama showed his dedication to a brand new job by walking 20 miles to his first day of work, and ended up with a free car.

Disaster struck before his first day at Bellhops moving began, but he wouldn’t let it ruin his chance of employment alongside his studies.

So, after getting his walking shoes on and taking to the open road on foot, Walter Carr caught his boss’ attention

His efforts earned him worldwide recognition and a car that could get him from A to B, at no extra expense.

VISIT SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie – 

This college student showed sheer determination

The first day at work can be daunting for anyone, especially when things have gone wrong the night before, but one college student didn’t let one unfortunate event get in the way of his career reputation.

You see, Walter Carr’s car unfortunately broke down just a few hours before he was due to drive 20 miles to start his new job in removals the next day.

Alabama college student walks 20 miles to his first day of work and his boss gives him a free car
Inside Edition

For many, this could have been a sign of bad luck, or even caused them to not show up, but for Walter, it spurred him on.

To get to work on time, the student left home at midnight, yes, you read that right, to walk 20 miles to get to his new place of work for an 8am start. That’s dedication.

Alabama college student walks 20 miles to his first day of work and his boss gives him a free car
Inside Edition

Walter reportedly walked 14 miles before a police officer picked him up and took him to get breakfast, before offering him a lift to the address he was set to help people move from, during his new job as a removals guy.

His story not only astonished the family he was working for, but also the CEO of the company he had just joined.

The customer, Jenny Hayden Lamey, was so impressed that she posted to Facebook, and after it went viral, it made its way to the top dogs of his new workplace.

“Walter said, ‘I walked.’ That was it. Humble.

“I asked him to share a little more, and when he did, the crew was in awe of him, too.

“I don’t know that Walter would have shared if I hadn’t asked him to,” she told CBS.

His resilience landed him a brand new free car

Luke Marklin, the CEO of Bellhops, a moving company, was simply blown away by Walter’s story and decided to surprise him with a life-changing item, a free car.

Alabama college student walks 20 miles to his first day of work and his boss gives him a free car
Inside Edition

He gifted the student with a 2014 Ford Escape, and once Walter was handed the keys, he was in disbelief.

“Walter didn’t give up on us, Walter never backed down, Walter showed us what our values really mean,” Luke Marklin told Inside Edition.

Alongside the gift of the new car, an online campaign was launched to help him fix his old car, which exceeded donations of over $50,000.

Walter’s message? Never give up.

You can watch him and his free car in action at the top of the page

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

Grace started her career writing about the weird and wonderful for the international press. She's covered everything from lifestyle to sports and hard news and now finds herself pursuing her main interest - cars. She's loved cars from a young age and has a keen interest in luxury travel too.