BY THE JAVANATOR
Macy Carlito enjoys one of her eight daily coffee drinks while completing schoolwork in one of her four majors
French press. Espresso. Latte. No matter how these precious beans are brewed, one senior who is graduating with four majors will drink it.
For Macy Carlito, her love for coffee began early in her college career when she needed a little boost to keep studying. Since then she has drunk no other liquids besides coffee. As a result she will graduate with a degree in psychology, criminal justice, sociology and social work after just four years of college.
Professors and peers ask Carlito what her secret is to achieving so much in the time it usually takes a student to finish one degree. Her response every time – coffee.
“When I drink coffee I automatically start focusing on my homework and other tasks I have to complete for class,” she said. “I’ve heard caffeine is the number one drug in America. Well, it sure is my one and only drug.”
Carlito drinks an average of eight coffee drinks a day depending on how much work she needs to accomplish. A mixture of caffeine and time management has allowed her to stay on task and complete her goal of majoring in these four areas.
“I am extremely passionate about helping others, and early on in my college career I figured the more classes I could take the better,” Carlito said. “Eventually I had accumulated enough credits in each major. So much so, I could complete all four if I continued to steadily work for it.”
Some may find it hard to believe Carlito has any free time outside of schoolwork, but she still finds time to participate in a number of student organizations, be a resident assistant for the past two years and work as a barista during the summers.
After graduation in May, Carlito is going to backpack across Europe before beginning graduate school at the University of Minnesota for sociology.
“I loved how much I learned about society and people for all four of my majors, but sociology in particular stood out to me,” she said. “I’d like to pursue more of the research side of the topic, and that’s why I’m going to graduate school.”
Plus, social work and criminal justice degrees are two back up plans for Carlito if sociology doesn’t quite work out, she said. No matter where life takes her, she plans on drinking just as much coffee when she graduates.
“To me it’s become normal, so I don’t know how I can just stop consuming it,” Carlito said. “I don’t only drink coffee for the added caffeine or ability to focus. I drink it because I truly enjoy the taste so much.”
Throughout the years she’s become a coffee connoisseur and has collected an array of products that brew this sweet nectar in different ways including an espresso machine, a French press and a chemex.
“Different ways of brewing coffee allow for different ways to taste coffee,” Carlito said. “For example, coffee made from a commercial drip-machine is going to taste more weak than say a French press or a chemex style of brewing.”
Carlito will be bringing her love and knowledge of coffee to Europe and school in the fall. Perhaps coffee will play an even bigger role in her life later on.
“I have thought about opening a coffee shop of my own some day, but I’ll just see where the coffee takes me.”