Katlyn Ackerman, Krysta Coy and Jamie Axlund

The team’s creative teaching idea, “Brewed for Business: The Gathering Grounds,” a student-run coffee shop, is designed to operate as an educational enterprise that integrates workforce readiness, academic coursework and inclusivity. It will offer quality items, and the shop will provide a tangible business where students enrolled in business programs can earn dual credit while gaining practical management experience. Simultaneously, the initiative will address Iowa’s work-based learning initiatives for special education students, providing work experience in real-world work settings cultivating employability and social skills. The team believes this dual focus positions the coffee shop as a profitable venture and an experiential learning opportunity. Guided by its mission to foster skill development, inclusion and community, the coffee shop aims to become a sustainable model, blending academics with workforce training. Its vision extends beyond a single school but seeks to establish a replicable framework that institutions can adopt to merge hands-on practice and classroom learning. The Voya grant will be used to improve accessibility within the coffee shop and to install a safe water filtration system.