Getting up to come to school early in the morning could be a pain, but staff at Lawrence High started look-ing forward to a powerful incentive: coffee.

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Prideful Coffee was a rising program in which students serve and deliver coffee to staff on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. This program was created to help students learn customer service skills in order to help transition them into future employment.

 

Job specialist Matt Klein got the idea while brainstorming creative ways for students to build tools for work experience.

 

“I know teachers like coffee, and I figured it would be a fun way to provide a service that teachers might really like, but also a thing for students where they could build work skills,” Klein said, “There's lots of coffee shops in Lawrence, and so it could be something that could even lead to a job.”

 

Wednesday was a casual interaction in which students gave teachers a quick refill, but on Thursdays, customers had to pre-order the service. Counselor Lori Stussie enjoyed the many options available on Thursdays.

 

“He has some different brands, and we answer a form sent out about how we would like our coffee prepared,” Stussie said. “When we come in, the students have a punch card which we pre-paid for, find our names on  cards and then just mark off our order.”

 

The coffee itself was locally sourced from a local shop in southeast Lawrence, and Klein was happy to support a small business.

 

“The coffee that we buy is from Repetition, which is a local coffee roastery,” Klein said. “It's female-owned, it's responsibly sourced food, and it's delicious coffee.”

 

There were a variety of tasks for students to complete, from making the coffee to completing a transaction with a customer, and freshman Johnny Outcalt said he was responsible for preparation.

 

“Giving ultimate first customers their coffees but I do half and half, but I do it slowly,” Outcalt said.

 

Stussie said she loved seeing the positive impact it had on students.

 

“The best part about the Prideful Coffee group is seeing the pride on the student's faces when they are able to successfully handle the monetary transactions and also make a cup of coffee that brings pleasure to everyone they serve,” Stussie said. “Just seeing the happy looks on their faces and the pride they take in doing a good job.”