HIDDEN BEHIND THE BEANS

A NEW BUSiNESS OPPORTUNiTY iS MAKiNG AN iMPACT AT NHS

Anthony Pratt//anthony.p6758@gmail.com Max Habel//maxwellwhabel@icloud.com

In September 2022, the German Club had been hit with an unprecedented time of financial crisis. The members gathered together with urgency, attempting to find a way to fund the club they all so dearly cared about. At that moment, they received an email. The Coffee Mill has requested that the group come and work with them.

In a time when many clubs have been struggling, the NHS Coffee Mill has become a beacon of hope for many. The new venture, started by Media Specialist Lucy Misetic, is open to students every Thursday and Friday morning before class offering an assortment of goods, including a variety of coffees. The Coffee Mill officially opened in September and since then has provided a much-needed source of income for clubs and groups around the school. In addition, clubs have found the opportunity for not only fundraising but also for bonding and exposure.

“[The Coffee Mill] helps to promote student groups and lets students see the diverse offerings the school has,” Misetic said. “It gives the clubs another way to show their own culture or show what they’re about.”

The German Club was the first groups to work with the Coffee Mill and since then, they’ve also been the library’s most consistent partner. Many members of the German club, including sophomore German Club member Samantha Hohmann, believe that their time working with the Coffee Mill has been a positive experience.

“The German Club had an amazing time working at the Coffee Mill,” Hohmann said. “I think it’s one of the best community-building and club-exploring things to do at the school.”

According to the German club, their work with the Coffee Mill has provided several advantages. They say their time in the Coffee Mill has brought the members of the club together, forming stronger connections and relationships between them. It has also helped bring exposure to the club.

“Working with the Coffee Mill has made our club members bond more, and it helps make people more aware of the different types of clubs in the school,” Hohmann said.

According to sophomore Alex Whitted, the most obvious benefit the club has received for their work is financial growth.

“When your club works at the Coffee Mill, some amount of the funds you make go back to your club, and it helps get your club’s name out there. It helps people know we’re still here,” Whitted said.

The German club was not the only group that has benefited from their association with the Coffee Mill. The Latino Student Union (L.S.U.) has consistently worked with the Coffee Mill, forming a successful partnership. In addition, the L.S.U. has been able to share their culture through the fundraiser, selling conchas and churros, popular Mexican pastries. Junior L.S.U. member Katy Luna helped sell various items for the fundraiser, and she feels happy for the opportunity to share the group’s culture to the wider NHS community.

“It was a lot of work, but it was fun to work together as a club and see our culture being embraced through our food,” Luna said. “It was wonderful seeing people being curious about our pastries and wanting to try something new.”

The L.S.U. was able to attract a wide variety of customers while working with the Coffee Mill. According to junior L.S.U. member Nisy Diaz, the club was thrilled by this surge of exposure.

“The Coffee Mill has impacted the L.S.U. because we have been planning to buy stuff we can use for our club meetings,” Diaz said. “It definitely helped us have more freedom to club ideas”

“Some people don’t understand what L.S.U. stands for. Some even confused us with other clubs, so it helped students realize what this club represented,” Luna said. “I am glad it could make them more curious to try new things, like our Hispanic/Latino pastries, and learn more about different cultures.”

For all of Emily Dukes’ 17 years of life, her parents have never heard her voice. Music recitals, acceptance speeches, or even childhood laughter, are all things her parents haven’t heard their daughter participate in. But not because they are absent in her life. Senior Emily Dukes is a KODA—a kid of deaf adults.

Dukes is the only member of her family with the ability to hear. Her mother, father, sister, and brother were born deaf. So she had to learn to communicate with them in other ways. But how can the millions of words that make up the English language be encapsulated into 10,000 different hand signals? Although her situation may sound isolating, Dukes isn’t ashamed of her family’s culture.

“I’ve always had a lot of pride in having a deaf family,” Dukes said.

Dukes’ says she maintains positive outlook. But she recognizes that not every KODA feels the same way.

“I know some of my KODA friends have had moments in their lives where they felt a certain way about having a deaf family,” Dukes said. “But I’ve never been like that. I’m always bragging to people about it.”

Although Dukes is proud of her family and their situation, it doesn’t shield her family from the watchful eyes and the judgemental whispers encountered in public settings.

“I think we all pick up on [the harassment],” Dukes said. “I think the sad truth is that my family is just used to it, and I’m used to it. It’s just more so disappointing that that’s something we have to just deal with.”

Occasionally, those watchful eyes and judgemental whispers can turn into violent confrontations for Dukes’