Most teens stroll into cafés and juice bars with earbuds in and phones out, scanning the menu for something sweet to sip between classes. But behind the counter, it’s often students of a similar age moving fast: wiping down blenders, adjusting syrup levels, calling out names over the hum of machines. High school baristas know how to switch gears from calculus to customer complaints in a matter of minutes.

For junior Luke Wu, the barista life started with a simple pitch to his mom: “Free boba for life.” That promise led to the opening of a Happy Lemon franchise in Sunnyvale, where Luke now plays a key role. He helps run the store by making drinks, managing the register and translating during business negotiations with landlords and agents. Fellow junior Mia Kister spends her summers working at iJuice in downtown Los Altos, where she preps fruit, makes smoothies and keeps pace with weekend rushes. Both students believe that the perseverance they developed through their jobs will benefit them long after high school.

Luke, Happy Lemon Employee

How did your family get into the boba business?

We started the business in around 2018. My parents aren’t immigrants, so they came here with a background in real estate, but they didn’t really have a stable job here. So one day, we decided to go into the Happy Lemon store, and we just loved the store. We didn’t have any considerations of joining the franchise at all, but one day the owner came back, the manager or CEO of the West Coast Happy Lemon side, he came, and he was like, “Hey, do you want to join our franchise?” And then my mom considered it, and I talked her into it. I was like, “Yes, join the franchise. I’ll get free boba every day.” So then we signed the contract, and we opened our first store in Sunnyvale. Ever since then, I’ve been just helping out in the store as a barista and cashier.

How often do you help out at the store?

I try to go there once every other week. I technically don’t get paid because it’s a family business and I also don’t want to take money from my parents, but I go out there and help them out on the weekends or on holidays.

What’s your favorite part about working at Happy Lemon?

That’s exactly why I wanted to join in the first place. It’s really cool because you get to make your own. And you also get to experiment and craft some drinks that aren’t even on the menu. Customer service is really important in the hospitality and tourism industry, and I think that being able to meet new people and being able to serve the drinks to them is a pretty rewarding opportunity. Making the drinks itself is fun, but being able to deliver it with putting the salted cheese at the very end and capping the cup and then seeing them take a sip of that beautiful Happy Lemon drink makes your day.

What have you learned from this experience?

So I often serve as a translator for my parents when it comes to business negotiations. We’ve had a lot of dealings with agents, landlords, so I’ve really gotten in touch with a lot of the business side of things and how to manage business administration, so I think that is going to be rewarding in the future.

Do you see yourself continuing with the business long-term?

I think I want to have it as a side hustle or be the owner when my parents pass it down to me, but also be able to hire a manager for other people to actually run the show. One of the key components I’ve learned from my parents is that any good store requires a lot of good managing, so a lot of Happy Lemon stores have closed down in the past because the owners didn’t take care of the store. They hired really weak managers who didn’t care about the store at all. So that’s one concern I have. But we’re also considering giving this business to my brother, who is 10 years older than me, and he can run it on the side.

Mia Kister (11), IJuice Employee

How did you first get started working at IJuice?

I got the job because my older sister used to work there, and she referred me to the owner. I worked there over the summer, about four days a week.

What kinds of tasks and responsibilities did your job involve on a daily basis?

Most of my time was spent making smoothies and juices, but there was a lot more to it too. We had to wash, prepare and cut up fruit, clean the juicers and blenders and just keep the whole store really tidy. It definitely wasn’t just about making drinks; there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that kept everything running.

What did you enjoy most about working at IJuice?

My favorite part was definitely talking to the customers. The store shared a space with a crystal and meditation shop, so we got a really interesting mix of people coming in. They were often super friendly and open, and I loved getting to hear their stories while making their drinks.

What were some challenges you faced?

Saturdays were especially crazy. It sometimes felt like a million customers would show up all at once, and there were times when only two of us were working. It was stressful, but we managed by creating a system where one person handled all the juices and the other did the smoothies. That division of labor really helped us stay organized and keep up with the rush.

Looking back, what important skills or lessons did you take away from the experience?

I definitely learned how to communicate better and work as part of a team. Sometimes it was challenging to coordinate with my coworkers, but it taught me a lot about patience and problem-solving. It also gave me a sense of responsibility — even small things like properly cutting fruit and cleaning up after myself. I could definitely see myself working at a similar place again because it was such a good learning experience.