The entrepreneurial spirit of our alumni is evident in our students too. Here on the Hill, Entrepreneurship is one of the most popular classes we’ve offered. We’ve been thinking about our five essential skills, and the areas of self discovery—the Mastery Approach—and we began to wonder whether there was an opportunity to leverage Tilton’s unique location.
We’re excited to announce the Gold Rush Coffee Shop. Gold Rush—a name linking the school’s colors, Charles Tilton’s legacy, and the energizing quality of the product—will be a real world entrepreneurship lab. With the coffee shop, we’ll serve the local community one cup at a time, and students will learn critical lessons across a variety of disciplines.
We expect the impact of this program to extend far beyond the reach of our “old” entrepreneurship class. Ceramics students might make mugs for the shops, while burgeoning graphic designers produce menu displays and promotions. Economics students can conduct real-world pricing studies. Campus artists and writers can work on the shop’s websites and promotional materials–or use it as a venue to perform. And through it all, the entire community can find a welcome spot and a warm cup.
What does the coffee shop look like? Right now, it’s a blank space! This spring our students will do the initial work of a startup, deciding on offerings, arranging suppliers, designing and decorating the space. We hope to serve our first cup of coffee by summer, but like any real world endeavor, there might be setbacks. This is how we learn.
We’re looking forward to seeing you in the shop soon, and don’t worry—we’ll provide plenty of progress reports along the way!