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Santa Fe Christian team alongside global community partnerships, and Vista Bean.
(Ryan Ash)
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Santa Fe Christian team alongside global community partnerships, and Vista Bean.
(Ryan Ash)
Not many high school students can say they helped open a coffee shop.
At Santa Fe Christian (SFC), students in the Business & Entrepreneurship Program can.
Located in the heart of campus, The Landing is a full-service coffee shop run by SFC students. Seven months after opening, it has quickly become a familiar gathering place on campus, serving coffee, drinks and food to students, faculty and staff, a news release stated.
But for the students who work there, The Landing is about much more than coffee.
It is an opportunity to experience what it looks like to build and run a business, while discovering how business decisions can impact people and communities far beyond the SFC campus.
“Business classes are taught through the lens of redemptive entrepreneurship. The goal is for students to understand the ‘why’ behind certain business decisions. I want them to understand that they can help people and make a difference, ” SFC Business & Entrepreneurship Director Sonia Sturgeon said in the news release.
More than good coffee
When SFC began developing The Landing, the Business & Entrepreneurship Program looked for a coffee partner whose values aligned with the kind of experience they wanted for students.
They found that partner in Vista Bean, an Oceanside-based coffee company whose mission is simple: “love coffee, love people more.”
The connection made sense. SFC already had relationships in Uganda through its Global Ministries Program, and Vista Bean works directly with coffee farmers in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda through its Sharetrade model, the news release stated.
Owned by Ryan and Ali Ash, Vista Bean partners with farmers and local communities to create greater social and economic opportunity while building relationships rooted in the love of Jesus.
For students at The Landing, that means the coffee they serve comes with a story.
The beans begin thousands of miles away with farmers in Uganda. They make their way to Oceanside, where they are roasted, and eventually to The Landing, where SFC students serve them to their classmates and teachers.
Suddenly, a cup of coffee “becomes a connection between a student-run business on a high school campus and a community on the other side of the world,” the news release stated.
A connection that keeps growing
The relationship between SFC, Vista Bean and communities in Uganda continues to grow.
After learning that farmers in Rwenzori did not have the infrastructure needed to process their coffee harvest, Vista Bean partnered with Prince and Heidi Sabena to establish Jenga Coffee, a local coffee processing facility.
Vista Bean purchases coffee from Jenga at fair prices before the beans make their way to Oceanside to be roasted and served at places like The Landing.
The SFC connection grew again through the school’s existing partnership with Kuwasha, an organization operating a K–12 school in the Kibaale area of Uganda, according to the news release.
Through Kuwasha, Vista Bean was introduced to additional coffee farmers who were growing coffee but did not have the knowledge or resources to process and export it.
Now, Vista Bean and Kuwasha are exploring ways to process coffee from those farmers, while also working together on plans for a school that would serve farmers in Rwenzori.
What started with a conversation about coffee for a student-run shop has opened the door to something much bigger: relationships centered around education, entrepreneurship, economic opportunity and community development, the news release stated.
Learning by doing
For SFC students, this is what makes The Landing such a meaningful part of their education.
They aren’t simply reading about business in a textbook. They are experiencing it.
Students serve customers, manage operations, make decisions, solve problems and learn what it means to steward the resources they have been given.
And along the way, they are beginning to see that the choices they make in business can have an impact on other people.
Senior Tori Wallace said in the news release: “This connection makes you feel good about the work you’re doing because you know you’re part of something bigger than yourself.”
That perspective is at the heart of what SFC hopes students take with them beyond the classroom and eventually beyond graduation.
For Lola Hubbell, class of 2026, her experience at Santa Fe Christian gave her opportunities to lead, take initiative and discover how her gifts could be used to serve others. Lola said in the news release: “When I think about my time at Santa Fe Christian, I’m grateful for the way my education went beyond the classroom. SFC gave me opportunities to lead, take initiative and discover how my gifts could be used to serve others. The Landing is such a great example of that. Students aren’t just learning about business; they’re learning how to use business to make a difference.”
From The Landing to Uganda
The partnership will take another step forward in April 2027, when students from SFC’s Business & Entrepreneurship Program travel to Rwenzori, Uganda.
Students will meet the farmers who grow the coffee they have been serving at The Landing and experience firsthand the communities connected to their business, the news release stated.
They will also participate in efforts connected to the planned Rwenzori school, bringing together SFC’s Business & Entrepreneurship and Global Ministries programs with Vista Bean and Kuwasha.
SFC hopes this will become an ongoing relationship, with students returning to the region in future years, the news release stated.
Watch the complete conversation between SFC and Vista Bean on The Eagle Perspective Podcast: The Eagle Perspective Podcast
To learn more about Santa Fe Christian High School attend its Eagle Expo on Oct. 28. Contact the SFC Admissions office at admissions@sfcs.net for more information.
