Watch out! Clear your schedules! It’s officially time for the fifth edition of my semi-annual article series comparing University of Connecticut majors to random categories of items. As this spring semester comes to a close, I wanted to send you all off with a fun little read featuring the local cafes right here on campus. I’ve worked at these cafes for two years now, and as a current supervisor, can say it has been one of the best decisions of my undergraduate years (right behind joining Her Campus, of course). There are a total of five shops that make up the UC Cafes, including Bookworms in Babbidge Library, Crossroads in Wilbur Cross, The Market Cafe in the Union, The Beanery in the Benton Museum, and Nanobytes in the Science 1 building. I typically work as a late-night Bookworms closer and can assure you that those last few hours of running around and sweating out of every pore on my body have made me bond with the shop more than I ever thought I could. So, let’s put my relationship with the Cafes to the test by pairing up our infamous bakery items with any majors I haven’t yet included in this series.
If you don’t see your major below or just want to check out other articles like this one, feel free to scroll through my other sorts of majors with Bagels, Holiday Movies, Starbucks Drinks, and Holiday Songs.
Now, let’s head on over to a UC cafe and check out what’s in the bakery case:
Blueberry scone/Muffin: Nursing
First up we have the highly popular blueberry muffin/scone. I decided to pair this up with nursing because the blue hue gives off hospital vibes. Plus, the choice of fruit over chocolate is something nurses all around are begging for us to make. If they were going to get a sweet treat, this would be the one.
Raspberry Croissant: Philosophy
Next, we have my personal favorite item at the cafes: the beloved raspberry croissant. My coworkers and I have spent many shifts raving over this item, and it is often the first pastry to sell out at the cafes. I’ve assigned it to the philosophy majors to try and figure out why UConn students love them as much as we do. Whether it be the powdered sugar, raspberry jam, or cream cheese filling, something about this pastry is irresistible.
Espresso Muffin: Pharmacy
Having a sister who used to be a Pharmacy major, it is totally underrated how difficult the classes can be. Often, the typical stem majors of chemistry, biology, and physics tend to overshadow some of the smaller science-based concentrations. A degree in Pharmacy, however, will have you taking nearly all the Chem classes possible. If any of you are in that boat I’m sure you’re well aware that sometimes it’s not enough to just drink your caffeine, you’ve got to eat it too.
Coffee Cake: Social Work
Now we have the newest addition to the cafes, the coffee cake. I decided to pair it with the social work major because it has sparked many conversations and praise from workers behind the counter. If anyone can create the same level of happy chatter, it’d be the future social workers here on campus. They are the best people to yap with, especially over some coffee cake.
Cranberry Orange Bread: Nutrition Sciences
Matching the cranberry orange bread with nutrition sciences was probably the easiest pairing to make. You’ve got your antioxidants in the cranberries and Vitamin C from the orange. It’s one of the best sweet treats a nutrition major could ask for.
Banana Bread: Theatre Studies
This pairing was made solely based on my love for saying the words “banana bread”. It sounds like the perfect warm-up exercise for theatre kids preparing to go on stage. I think it could almost reach the same level of iconic as Sharpay’s “Brrr-Mah” warm-up. Well…maybe not quite as iconic. Nothing can truly compete with Queen Sharpay.
Chocolate Croissant: Statistics
This pairing is more of an assignment for my statistics majors out there. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our chocolate croissants tend to significantly vary in size. Sometimes you get one as big as your head, and sometimes they fit into the palm of your hand. I think the bakery could use your help finding a mean size and sticking to it. Not to mention the famous wise words from our favorite French boy, Lil Timmy Chalamet, “Statistics, statistics, statistics.” For that performance, I’ll give him all the pan au chocolat his French heart could desire.
Tropical Muffin: Real Estate
I would also like to recruit some help from the real estate majors out there (which is a major I didn’t know existed here until now) to get some tips on how to sell the new tropical muffins added this semester. I’ve had plenty of people purchase them thinking they’d be like a corn muffin and then get jump-scared by the not-so-mild lemon and coconut flavor. I’ve also had plenty of people avoid purchasing it entirely because they don’t know what “tropical” tastes like. So, if you guys could just stand outside the cafes and sell these muffins the same way you’d sell a tropical beach house, that’d be much appreciated.
Plain Croissant: Finance
Next up we have the classic croissant paired with the Finance major. You guys like to keep it simple and real. You’re likely getting a black coffee with your order, the Volcano brew. And since it’s no extra cost to you, you will always get that croissant warmed up.
Chocolate Chip Muffin: SLHS
Finally, I’ve paired up our chocolate chip muffins with the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major. When the cafes are hit with a rush and someone orders this, I often slur all the words together and say something that sounds more like “chalk-ch-mif.” I wouldn’t be surprised if an SLHS major stopped me to get me to actually pronounce each syllable correctly. If you’ve ever seen me working and have no idea what’s coming out of my mouth, trust me, neither do I.
Now go and get yourself a little treat from the cafes and get back to studying! Good luck with your finals and have a wonderful summer!