This summer we tried something new in the coffee shop! We had a Summer Baking Intern! We were excited to welcome Mirage Carrington in as our summer Baking Intern. Mirage was already a Fairmount friend from the community. We have known her and her family for a long time, and they have been active in the ministry of the coffee shop, community garden, and outreach to the community. Her father, Darryl, was a key person in helping us to get the coffee shop going, and connecting us with key people at the University and in the community as the former WSU Community Liaison. This made this experience for her and us both all the more special.
Our goal for the internship was to create a hands-on environment for the intern to gain practical job skills in a professional setting. After the summer internship wrapped up Paige, our Director of Outreach, sat down with Mirage to visit about her experience. They had a great conversation that we would like to share with you. We've edited the conversation below a bit for for length and content:
PE: How did you get connected with this job or with Fairmount?
MC: I got connected with the relationship my father had with this company since he used to work here.
PE: Your dad was such a big part of the starting of the coffee shop. I remember when he first started working here, he's like, it'd be really cool my kids could work here and Fairmount could do well. It could become a place where it's a legacy to pass on to his family and the Fairmount community. So that's really cool! So what made you interested in the internship or working at Fairmount Coffee Company?
MC: I got interested because it's a coffee shop! I used to have coffee shops as main targets for finding jobs and stuff for baking. You know, my first target was Cocoa Dolce. However, because I'm under age, I couldn't work there because, you know, they put alcohol in their desserts. So I'm like, I don't think I can work there since I'm underage and I can't do alcohol. So my dad recommended, well, you know, we have a coffee shop here in Fairmount, so why won't you go ahead and come over there?
PE: Who were your coworkers or people that you worked with? Was that a very good experience for you?
MC: Well, I mostly work with Abby because she's the main baker, and she, like, taught me how to make muffins and scones and stuff. But I would have, like, little interactions with other co workers, like Lucas and others!
PE: That's good. I'm really glad that they were welcoming to you and that you had a good experience. What was your favorite part of the job?
MC: My favorite part of the job was discovering new recipes to bake. Like, I've never heard of a breakfast scones, like, how you would put green onions, and bacon, and cheese ... and just go like that! I never knew you could do that, and I never knew you can put espresso in brownies! It was a really cool thing to experience such new recipes that I've never heard of.
PE: How do you feel your baking knowledge has changed or grown since working here this summer?
MC: Well, I've become more confident with baking. First of all, you know, I don't need that much adult supervision in the kitchen. Whenever I'm baking something, like, for instance, chocolate chip cookies, I know know how much flour, sugar, eggs, or chocolate chips I need to add in the cookies, because Abby taught me these things. Even though she wasn't so specific, and she wasn't holding my hand throughout the whole step. I had to visually learn and physically learn how much physical experience that I need with baking.
PE: Did you learn any tips and tricks beyond that, or do you have all the really neat trick beyond that that you learned?
MC: I learned how to knead dough. Knead dough. Like, I put flour on the counter, and then I have my gloves, and then I knead the dough to prepare for scones.
PE: Overall, how would you describe the experience of working at Fairmount Coffee Company?
MC: It was great. Like I said, I was more confident in baking because of this experience. I really liked, like, interacting with people older than me [and learning from them] because they have more experience. This experience was good because I never got to work with so much professional supplies in a coffee shop before!
PE: What are your future hopes and dreams?
MC: My future hopes and dreams is to memorize a recipe without looking it up on the Internet.
PE: That would be really good! Do you have any, like, a recipe that you have in mind that you'd like to learn?
MC: Probably macaroons or something like that. I want to make, like, the original macaroon. It's not like the coconut ones where there's, like, chocolate bonita and stuff. I want to make, like, strawberries, like a cookie and cream and cookie between them. I first fell in love with coffee shops because I thought all coffee shops have cool pastries like banana bread, or brownies, or macaroons or things like cake pops. Now I'm realizing that not all coffee shops have these unique things. Not all coffee shops have cake pops, like Starbucks, or not all coffee shops have, like, macaroons and cool chocolate, little chocolate thingies like Cocoa Dolce.
PE: So I know this is just a summer internship for you for the time being. Where are you headed to next?
MC: I'm heading to an art program at East High school. Hopefully I can be more educated in art, like creating original art with like pens and pencils and stuff like that. And then my goal ahead of that is to have an art piece in the Market Arts Museum because they have a little section for younger students in high school.
PE: That's a really good goal. I bet you can do it.
MC: I hope so. Yes. I'm going to try. I draw a little every day.
PE: What do you like to draw?
MC: I like to draw people.
PE: People?
MC: Yeah, like, I'll find like a little reference on Pinterest and stuff like that. And I'll be like, oh, he's cooler. Oh, she's really pretty. Let me draw that so I can learn how to draw anatomy and stuff like that. Yeah, like different noses or different face structures and stuff like that.
PE: That's awesome. Well, that kind of goes with the next question. When you're not baking or at school, what do you like to do? Do you have any other hobbies or interests?
MC: I like to play with my cat.
PE: I love it! (At this point, Mirage and I shared pictures of our cats and swapped a few stories)... Okay. Is there anything else you would like to share about the baking experience at Fairmount?
MC: It's a wonderful experience. Everyone's a try once in a while. You get more experience and you learn a lot. A little everyday
PE: Is there anything specific that you would want to share with them about Fairmount or your experience or that you would want our community to know?
MC: I feel like this coffee shop is really special to me. Not only because I had a job here, but it was because it's in my community. It's like our very own coffee shop right here, right now. I can just walk in and then I'll see all these cool people from our community just talking or studying for like a test and things like that. Yeah, I like this coffee shop.
PE: Well, we've loved having you Mirage. We're happy that you joined our team. We're excited for the future. Thank you for interviewing with me today!
We had a great experience working with Mirage and exploring new avenues of how we can engage the community in a new way through hands-on job training! Not only did Mirage get job training, but she got to experience of working in the unique atmosphere of Fairmount Ministries & Coffee Co. We are excited to explore future opportunities similar to this in the near future! Through offering great quality baked goods and delicious beverages, we are able to engage our community in relationships and invite them to learn and grow in faith. We are excited to explore future opportunities similar to this in the near future. We thank you for your prayers, offering your time and talents, and your generous gifts to further the ministry that happens in this place and through the people of Fairmount Ministries & Coffee Co.
Learn about Fairmount Coffee: www.fairmountcoffee.com
Volunteer: www.fairmountministries.org/volunteer
Donate: www.fairmountministries.org/give
留言