Charlotte

Charlotte Berry started at Howard Community College to pursue degrees in both accounting and culinary, wanting to merge her passion for culinary arts and the hospitality industry with her vision to land a job as a business professional. She found the answer she was looking for at an on-campus job fair, held during her second semester as a student. Orinoco Coffee and Tea was there, with a goal to recruit an intern. Charlotte, seeing the internship as the perfect opportunity to get some basic field experience, applied, and landed the position.

“I loved the diversity in the work I was doing, as soon as I started at Orinoco,” said Charlotte, who was invited to stay onboard as an employee, part-time and then later full-time, once her internship was completed. “I got involved with marketing and sales, trade show planning and management, and product production and packaging. I also handle most of the accounting procedures for the company. The whole process is exciting to be part of.”

As Charlotte works to build and promote the Orinoco brand that she has come to love, she remains grateful for the role HCC played in helping her get there in the first place.

“I met people at HCC that I never would have had the opportunity to connect with, anywhere else,” said Charlotte. “Networking and meeting with industry professionals is a big part of why the culinary management program has the reputation it does. It’s about more than just building new skills; the faculty is also really committed to helping people find jobs that are a good fit, based on their goals. I still feel very connected to HCC, for that reason.”.

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