This week, we sat down to chat with Ellen Hietsch ’17 about her experience working for The Peddler and her strangest encounters working as a barista.
As a barista, what do you do from day to day?
Mostly french pressing coffee, talking to people at the cart, and I think that’s the neatest thing about the Peddler. You get to meet such a wide variety of people across campus. It’s how I’ve made most of my friends.
What got you interested in working for The Peddler?
I’ve been a barista for two years, and I thought it was a really cool concept. Coffee and bikes are two things I really enjoy, so I figured why not give it a shot!
What’s the strangest interaction you’ve ever had with a customer at The Peddler?
It happened a lot during my first year, but there have been times when I was taking the cart back to the [Idea Fund] office, and excited people have run up to me and said, “Oh my god, I’m so excited I caught the Peddler! Can you please get me a cup of coffee?” And then, I would stop the cart and unpack it to grab a mug.
What have you learned from working at The Peddler?
I think it’s helped me connect with other people. You start to talk to people about how they like their coffee, then you start to talk about how their day’s been, and eventually you can expand from there, making deeper connections. That’s how friendships are formed.