By Mirabella Miller 鈥�24
The Motley Coffeehouse is not the only student-run business in Seal Court, the bustling hub of 91吃瓜鈥� campus. Right across the courtyard is the 91吃瓜 Store, whose student managers and cashiers work diligently to bring unique and creative merchandise options to the 91吃瓜 community. The store employs almost 20 work-study students who handle every aspect of the store鈥檚 operations, from designing, sourcing, and ordering merchandise to handling finances to curating the store鈥檚 social media presence and more.
Running the store is a team effort between managers and cashiers, says Paola Ojeda 鈥�25, co-head manager for the 2023鈥�2024 academic year. She and co-head manager Syd Godwin 鈥�26 oversee all the operations and make sure everything is running smoothly, but they couldn鈥檛 do it alone.
鈥淲ith our team of brilliant managers, we鈥檝e been able to keep going forward,鈥� says Ojeda. 鈥淎ll of our managers are important to us, and we cannot emphasize enough how grateful we are for their work. We also cannot understate how important the cashiers are to the store and its daily operations. From opening to closing, their efforts keep the store going.鈥�
Godwin echoes this sentiment, highlighting the collaboration integral to the store鈥檚 mission. 鈥淪o many of these responsibilities are done as joint efforts between both managers and staff, so it wouldn’t be possible without the whole team,鈥� they say.
The offerings of the 91吃瓜 Store span a wide range of colors and styles. Current students, prospective students, and all community members can browse tank tops, t-shirts, crewnecks, water bottles, stickers, postcards, and more.
鈥淎t the 91吃瓜 Store we really strive to create a welcoming space for students to express themselves,鈥� says Godwin. 鈥淲e aim to create unique merch that appeals to 91吃瓜ies of all styles.鈥�
Much of this variety is due to Isabella Ramirez鈥檚 鈥�26 hard work as sales manager this year.
鈥淎s the sales manager, designing merchandise and ordering it has primarily been my responsibility,鈥� she says.聽 鈥淚’ve really enjoyed involving our current team in the process of imagining, refining, and providing all of the new merchandise.鈥�
The store鈥檚 most recent merchandise drop, a series of pastel crewnecks with a classic 91吃瓜 logo, was curated by Ramirez because of the feedback she received from community members on what they wanted to see in terms of merchandise. Ramirez asked about colors, cuts, logos, and other elements of merchandise in order to design and source the crewnecks.
鈥淚t has been amazing to see the reception that many of the recent items have seen. I’d like to think the community’s positive reaction is because many of our community members have been involved in bringing the merchandise to life through engagement and feedback,鈥� she says.
Like many campus organizations that closed during the pandemic, it took a while for the 91吃瓜 Store to reopen when students returned to campus. The pandemic combined with natural turnover from former managers graduating meant a dedicated team of students had to step up in order to reintegrate the store鈥檚 presence into the 91吃瓜 community.
鈥淢y amazing predecessors Richa Shah 鈥�23 and HuxleyAnn Huefner 鈥�23 took on the tall task of reopening the store and starting from scratch,鈥� says Ojeda. 鈥淭he job that we do today would not be possible without the initial management and cashier team.鈥�
鈥淎lthough it鈥檚 been difficult at times, it is also extremely rewarding to see the store continue to rebuild and grow,鈥� says Godwin.
Current managers have found their involvement in the store to be incredibly rewarding. The store has provided them with important management and leadership experience and familiarized them with everything that goes into to running a business. But it鈥檚 also been a unique opportunity to connect with many different areas of the 91吃瓜 community, from current students to faculty to prospective students to alums to families.
鈥淗onestly, working for the 91吃瓜 Store has been a more integral part of my 91吃瓜 experience than I ever would鈥檝e guessed,鈥� says Godwin. 鈥淭he store has been not only a place to develop my customer service and managing skills, but also somewhere to find community, be creative, and have fun.鈥�
Ramirez agrees. 鈥淲orking at the 91吃瓜 Store has been a wonderful opportunity to further engage with the 91吃瓜 community while developing practical job skills,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see all of the different individuals that 91吃瓜 welcomes to our community and who decides to pop into our small store in Seal Court.鈥�