Fried chicken and a random act of kindness have changed one fast-food employee’s life.

Donald Carter was hungry, tired and decided to swing by the drive-through at a Popeyes restaurant near his house Friday.

He ended up talking with the girl working at the window and she mentioned she wanted to go back to school to become a nurse.

"What kind of nurse?" he asked.

"It don't even matter," she replied.

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Carter drove home, sat in his car eating his chicken and thought about how to help her.

He did a little research and learned that nursing school costs about $1,500. Then he created a GoFundMe campaign and challenged his 1,300 or so Facebook "friends" -- if he got $5 from 300 of them, he could meet his goal.

Carter so far has raised more than $5,400.

She had no idea about the fundraiser until Carter surprised her at work Sunday.

"That's the power of a community," Carter said in a video shared on YouTube.

The woman, who was identified only as Shajuana, was a ball of emotions

"I am way past excited right now," she said in the video. "I actually get to pursue something that I've always wanted to do for a very long time, but because I had certain little roadblocks in my life (that) was the reason I was pushed further and further away from it."

She plans to look into schools and start soon, according to WDAF.

"What he did for me, I can't wait to be able to get on my feet good enough, so I can do it for somebody else," she told WDAF. "That guy does not know how much of an impact he's made on my life."