Twenty-two years ago, Aisha Jefferson, corporate communications manager at QuikTrip Corp., stopped for gas on her way to college and ended up filling out a job application because she was “blown away by the customer service,” she said.
Jefferson spoke about her career journey at CSP’s C-Store Women event in San Antonio, Texas, which took place Nov. 3-5.
“To be honest, it was the customer service,” she said. “I know it sounds cliche, and everyone says that about their company, but I went into QuikTrip and everyone was saying, ‘Hello, welcome to QuikTrip!’”
As the youngest child with three brothers, Jefferson had something to prove, she said.
“For me, I had to prove to my parents their little girl can do the same things that your [sons] have done in the world,” she said. “I wanted to be fierce, independent and show my parents that their little girl can be just as confident, just as strong, just as successful as all of their sons.”
- QuikTrip is No. 9 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Jefferson began at the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based chain as a part-time store employee.
She fully bought into advancing her career at QuikTrip when one of her store managers told her that it’s “more than a gas station,” she said.
“My store manager saw something in me that I did not see in myself,” Jefferson said. “I thought I could be the best cashier in the world—fast, super awesome customer service, and that engaged me initially. And he said, ‘I see more in you than you probably see in yourself,’ and in that moment, I knew my purpose.”
Since she started at the company, she has been promoted nine times.
Her most recent promotion, to corporate communications manager, was the most intimidating because she had to move to Tulsa from Atlanta, Jefferson said, and she had only 24 hours to make the decision.
“I had to pack up everything and move to a state with no family, no friends, just me and my partner—but we were all in,” she said.
Jefferson also chairs QuikTrip’s Culture Council, which fosters inclusion, engagement and belonging.
“I've always been able to show up at QuikTrip as my true, authentic self,” she said. “And that's not always something that we can do when we go to work. Most times we have to assimilate. Most times we have to mask. And at Quiktrip, I feel like I've always been able to show up as myself. That's one thing that I cherish. In being the chair of the Culture Council, I just make sure that everyone understands that belonging is what it's all about.”
QuikTrip is a privately held company. Founded in 1958, the chain has grown to a more than $11 billion company with more than 31,000 employees.
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