Labiq Jaigirdar has loved soft pretzels since they were sold twice a week while he was a student at Solis-Cohen Elementary School.
Today, he’s a junior at Drexel and still enjoys pretzels for breakfast because they give him a jump start for the day.
Back on National Pretzel Day, April 19, Jaigirdar stopped by the Philly Pretzel Factory at 1903 Cottman Ave. for a free pretzel.
Jaigirdar, a Castor Gardens resident and Pretzel Factory VIP member, learned of a promotion. In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Pretzel Factory was giving out scratch and win game cards to customers, with no purchase necessary, through July 31.
The grand prize winner would be given $25,000. The game also included a second chance, giving players the opportunity to scratch off a code to be entered online, and Jaigirdar took advantage of the second chance option.
While Jaigirdar won a free dip a few times on the game cards, it turned out to be the second chance that determined the grand prize winner.
The good news came in an email in mid-August.
“Somehow, I won $25,000,” Jaigirdar said. “I wasn’t expecting to win the top prize. I never won something that big.”
The odds were against Jaigirdar, as there were about 717,000 game cards printed, but he was the lucky $25,000 winner.
“It’s life changing,” he said. “It helps me finish Drexel.”
Jaigirdar, 21, who attended Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Carver Engineering and Science High School, received his winnings in a late August trip to Pretzel Factory headquarters in Bensalem. Accompanied by his parents and siblings, he toured the facility and had a chance to make pretzels.
“I had a blast that day,” he said.
At Drexel, he double majors in finance and management information systems, with a minor in politics. He earned college credits through Community College of Philadelphia while a high school student and is in the honors program at Drexel, where he is enrolled in a five-year program.
He works part-time as a manager at an Estee Lauder distribution warehouse in Bristol. He was formerly a junior block captain, a volunteer at Northeast Regional Library and an intern for state Rep. Jared Solomon.
“I always want to give back,” he said.
Jaigirdar put his money where his mouth is, donating $1,000 to the Muslim Ummah of North America and another $1,000 to the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, 1421 Tyson Ave. ••
