Hospitality interns at Starbucks land jobs before graduation


Two FIU students interned and work at Starbucks

Starbucks has partnered with the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management for their retail internship program in the Florida market. Logo courtesy of Starbucks Corporation.

From a warm morning coffee to an afternoon iced latte, sometimes, a cup of coffee just helps get us through the day.

For FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management students Francia Umanzor and Gabreon Davis, coffee got them internships and full-time jobs with Starbucks.

Starbucks offered its first-ever, 11-week retail internship program in the Florida market exclusively to FIU’s Hospitality and Tourism Management students starting in the summer of 2015. Umanzor and Davis were two of three FIU students to participate in this pilot program.

The internship ranged from making coffee and interacting with customers to meeting Starbucks regional directors and learning about multiple administrative departments to learning leadership and management styles.

“I never experienced something like this before, ” says Davis, who graduates in the spring of 2016. “In such a short period of time, we did so much – critique the store, speak to district managers, meet with the human resources staff of the company, and get in contact with a lot of major people within Starbucks, which was really cool.”

Starbucks Partner Resources Manager Vanessa Florio, who oversees the internship program, says they’ve realized people with a hospitality background are more successful adjusting to Starbucks and developing a genuine connection to customers.

“We wanted to attract a diverse slate of talent representing the community we serve,” Florio says. “What better way than finding talent at FIU? FIU has one of the best, if not the best hospitality, programs in the country.”

Because of the unique set-up that brought FIU interns on-board as both Starbucks interns and full-fledged “partners” (employees), the interns were able to fulfill their majors’ internship and work hours required for graduation.

Gabreon-Davis-Starbucks-Intern

Gabreon Davis

The interns also had a project akin to a final presentation in which they had to find a problem within their store, create a solution for the problem, and present their solution to a panel of Starbucks regional leaders.

“All this from making Frappuccinos,” Davis says.

For Davis, the opportunity helped him connect with different individuals. “You have to connect with partners, customers. Everyone plays a key role in your life, and you need to connect with them personally.”

“It’s been a learning experience,” says Umanzor, who graduates this semester. “The more you learn, the more you grow. The day you stop learning, your life is over.”

She enjoyed learning about management styles the most during her internship. “They teach you at Starbucks to coach people, give people options – how I can help you, what I can do to make this better.”

Starbucks Intern Francia Umanzor

Francia Umanzor

Her favorite part of her job is meeting people. “I really enjoy interacting with people. I don’t want someone to leave with a bad taste in their mouth of bad service. I like to give my best service. When it comes to people I try my best, and I’m happy to do it.”

When asked how she feels about landing a job before graduating, Umanzor says: “Wow, I made it. I feel like if I made it here, working hard and putting yourself out there – giving 150% effort” pays off.

“This is a really great success story for us,” Florio says. “This year we did so well with this pilot program, we are expanding it to the rest of the state. FIU will be our exclusive partnership with our two South Florida [Starbucks] areas.”

Florio adds working with FIU student interns was fabulous. “They had a sincere commitment. Getting to see them grow through training, learning how to be partners and to be a leader in our community – all those things, they rose up to the occasion. They were organized, responsible, mature.

“We are looking forward to 2016 – to do this again and making it bigger and bigger.”

The internship application process for the next set of FIU Starbucks intern applicants will begin in January 2016.