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Café @ Synergy: Business to Barista Program

Students in front of Cafe @ Synergy counter thumbnail261478
Student selecting a beverage at Cafe @ Synergy thumbnail261479
Student placing an order with a student working at Cafe @ Synergy thumbnail261480
Student making a coffee beverage at Cafe @ Synergy thumbnail261481

Learners in the Business to Barista program are getting real-world experience while earning valuable, industry-recognized business certifications, and getting paid while they learn!

Café @ Synergy is located at the Synergy building where students, faculty and community members can enjoy coffee, snacks and other beverages before, between and after classes. The café also has breakfast and lunch grab and go options. There’s also plenty of seating for reading, studying or quietly collaborating on projects while enjoying their beverage of choice.

The Café is staffed by seniors who, in addition to gaining work experience, are also taking asynchronous business courses that directly relate to the skill sets they are employing as part of the Café @ Synergy team. As a bonus for their future, each of these courses ends in a professional certification including Communication Skills for Business (CSB) Certification, Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) Certification and Intuit QuickBooks Online Certified User (QBOCU) Certification.

The learners are also deeply engaged in the Café @ Synergy business model, taking part in brainstorm sessions on how to improve the customer experience. They are working with the innovative Intuit Design for Delight program which delves into customer engagement, loyalty and satisfaction, design thinking skills that will greatly benefit them in the future. Students in the program also have the option to complete the Intuit Design for Delight Innovator Certification which helps promote creativity, critical thinking, complex problem solving and collaboration.

"Mineola's Cafe at Synergy program is a true example of experiential learning in action,” said District Coordinator of Career, Community and STEAM Opportunities Dr. Nicole Culella. “It allows students to learn essential business concepts and principles while being fully engaged in the day-to-day operations of a student-run business open to the public."

Café @ Synergy is open to the public on school days only from 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Date Added: 10/9/2024

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