April 3, 2015
Event Summary
We had a fabulous field trip to Starbucks Headquarters, and 35 young women in IGNITE from Franklin HS attended the wonderful trip.
Starbucks employees rolled out the red carpet. First we had a grand tour seeing so much of how Starbucks goes about its business and interacts with employees and the public. Girls were so excited to see so much of how people work in such an exciting and uplifting company.
Then we went to the main conference room where we had the rest of our specially designed day. We had a tasting of homemade soda’s, soon to be available everywhere. The treat is called Fizzio and was also a fantastic presentation given by Michelle Thiessen and Michelle Herndon. You made it such a fun and special experience.
Then girls went into groups for the Idea-a-Thon. The girls were given a question to solve, about how to involve youth in Starbucks and get them excited to work at Starbucks. Girls brainstormed ideas and then presented them to the entire room in their groups. Some did skits and some took turns presenting ideas. The girls were brave and spoke well about their ideas. It was so great to see everyone get involved and learn how people work in teams in Starbucks.
The activity was certainly such a special part of the day. The girls loved sharing their ideas. And the teams really helped the girls build their confidence. An amazing panel of women in STEM careers at Starbucks was next, and lunch was served while the women presented. The women were inspirational, really sharing all about their career paths, what obstacles they faced and what advice they wanted to give the girls. Then the girls were given time to ask questions. They had great questions and really got discussion going.
An amazing panel of women in STEM careers at Starbucks was next, and lunch was served while the women presented. The women were inspirational, really sharing all about their career paths, what obstacles they faced and what advice they wanted to give the girls. Then the girls were given time to ask questions. They had great questions and really got discussion going.
Comments from the girls
The best part was the chance to hear great leaders in the business world talk about how they got to where they are today. I loved hearing everyone’s different paths and the process of everything
that happens at Starbucks. It was amazing to see the leadership and teamwork it takes for a big corporation to be successful. Grade 11
The tour was pretty cool. I really enjoyed the panel! The ladies answered all of the questions perfectly! They had great tips and were extremely nice. (heart) Also loved the pizza! It was interesting to get a look into what its like to have their jobs and how they got to where they are today! Grade 10
The thing I liked most about today’s event are all of the different jobs at the Starbucks Headquarters. I thought the most interesting thing I heard today was all of the different types of engineering jobs that are available for women. Grade 10
The advice about confidence, I thought is very helpful! Their journey getting where they are now. Grade 12
I liked the presentation that we had to do ourselves. It gave us a chance to present in front of others. The most interesting thing I heard today was from the recruiter, and what she looks for in employees. They look for curiosity and my opinions. Grade 9
I liked the tour and the idea-a-thon. I also liked the panel that shared their experiences and career paths. The most interesting thing was seeing the different working environments available in the building.
It was fun to know many different things about seeing them at work and what they do. I appreciate it. That a coffee shop has all of these parts to it!
I liked listening to the panel’s advice and experiences. They were very inspiring and helpful. I never knew Moby Dick inspired Starbucks logo. Grade 9
I loved Janet’s tip on getting attention in the meeting. Sitting in the front will help me be more outspoken. Also, I appreciated the tips about internships. I want to thank Starbucks for giving us such nice gifts. Also this is for Michelle. Thank you for the Magenta group! Thanks so much! Also Kelsey, thank you for touring us around the headquarters! Grade 9
What I liked best was the brainstorming to attract customers. Also, I liked how we shared the info in front of others to boost confidence. I liked learning about the internships and scholarship money. Also, I had no idea there were reward cards for Starbucks! I actually want to learn more about the internships. It is actually a dream of mine to work part-time at Starbucks while I’m in college. Grade 9
I loved the tour. There were so many cool places in the headquarters. Salon, gym and a real kitchen! I learned a lot about how to get the confidence to speak out loud. I am going to use the tips J
Grade 10
I really liked hearing about everyone’s experience getting into Starbucks. I also liked the advice from the ladies. The most interesting thing I heard today was the story about putting a chair at the top of the table instead of the bottom of the table, I thought it was inspirational. Grade 9
I liked the presentation that we did, because we were actually presenting and I felt like it was interesting. It was so interesting to hear how women got into their careers.
I liked the tour. I really appreciated the advice, like wearing clothes that make you feel confident. How to accept rejection. Grade 9
I loved getting into groups and sharing our ideas. I learned that no matter what I should speak up and put my ideas out there. Grade 10
I liked how we were able to take a tour and see everything around here. It was nice hearing about the “partners story” and the path to Starbucks. Grade 10
The building was really cool and it was great to hear everyone’s stories. And how the women got here to Starbucks. Grade 11
I loved all of the stories people shared. And the tour was great. Grade 11
I really enjoyed the tour. How to accept rejection, there is always a career out there that will fulfill your interests.
I liked learning how much Starbucks cares about the community and cares a lot about their customers. I really enjoyed hearing about the process of making coffee. Grade 11
There were so many things I liked about the day. I enjoyed the tour, learning about the different jobs and how to improve the Starbucks app, where some of my favorites. Grade 9
I liked the tour and really enjoyed the panel. It was interesting to see how many cups someone has to taste to test the coffee.
I liked learning about the history of Starbucks. I liked all of it. Grade 9
I really liked hearing how people got into their careers. Grade 9
I liked the types of events and activities that we did. It was fun that we had new ideas for the company. I liked the app idea. Grade 12
THANK YOU!
Thank you all for making this day possible. It was really wonderful and the girls always say it best as you can see in the comments above.
– Cathi
- I first want to thank the two women who coordinated with me in the planning stages: Jenny Robinson and RoseAnn Gizinski, who week after week planned each
small and big detail so the day would be perfect. - Thank you first to our Greeters! Donna Buyce, Wendy Ehringer ,Jeanne-Ann Jensen, Shan Evans, Andie Alei. We felt so very welcome by all of you.
- A big thank you to those of you who gave the grand tour! It was such an exciting and uplifting tour for everyone. We got to see so many different areas and all of the stories that went with each one. The tour was a really exciting experience for everyone.
- Thank you to Tour Guides, Wylie Eng, Shami Okafor, Kelsey Jones,Liz Rampolla, Dzenita Custo, Crystal Fulton.
- Thank you to Jonathan Fadden, Adela Zichova, Dina Updegraff, Erika Snyder, Michelle Herndon, Sera Taner, and Wylie Eng for leading the activity portion of the tour.
- Thank you to the truly incredible panel of women. Barbara Spearing, Janet Landers, Marianne Marck, Lisa Vaillancourt, Keri Kusznir, Diane Terry, and Amy Tsui. Your stories were so inspirational to the girls, every single girls commented about how much it meant to them.
- There were so many people who made this day truly special. Some other helpers include Meredith McGee, Brenda Langer and Janna Harala.
- Also thank you to Julie O’Brien, IGNITE teacher at Franklin HS who goes above and beyond to help create these wonderful experiences for the girls. She is truly an IGNITE star and teacher.
View the Franklin High School Chapter page