CFK Keys Currents-2020-21

Brewing Success
CFK Means Business:
Rise & Shine
There is a new way
to rise and shine
in the Keys, and it
started right here
on The College of
the Florida Keys
campus.
A
lumni Amber Heimann opened
A.M. Birds at 301 Overseas Highway
after the idea came to her while she
was pursuing her Associate in Arts and
Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision
and Management degrees at CFK.
A.M. Birds is an eclectic local coffee
shop and bakery where you can get a
jumpstart on your day and delicious biscuits.
It all started when Amber needed a project
Serving up hot coffee
and fluffy biscuits,
Amber Heimann
(BAS, Sup & Mgt
’18) is flexing her
business skills at her
own coffee shop,
A.M. Birds, with the
business plan she
developed at CFK.
idea for her statistics class at CFK. Her idea
was to use a large popular coffee company
as a topic for research, since she thought
necessary information for the business would
be easily accessible. She also knew that
local coffee shops were competition for the
coffee giant, because of the more unique
and familiar settings these offer. Amber
felt drawn to the local coffee shops she
frequented in Key West because of this.
Amber’s ideas developed more as she
finished her A.A. and decided to pursue her
B.A.S. as part of the first class of graduates
in the bachelor’s degree program at CFK,
where her campus community fostered her
dream. In Dr. Frank Wood’s class, students
were assigned a semester-long project on
a business model of their choosing. “My
parents had talked about buying a coffee
shop down from the restaurant, and once
my parents said that, I turned my whole
assignment around,” Amber said. Because
of this fortuitous moment, she used the
coffee shop vision as the focus. With
these ideas colliding, Amber’s vision was
becoming a reality.
In the capstone course for the major,
taught by CFK president, Dr. Jonathan
Gueverra, Amber used her final semester to
visualize what it was that she would do after
she graduated. According to Gueverra, the
assigned project was designed “to integrate
all that the students had learned and
demonstrate proficiency and to prepare
them for that next step in their life,” with
the hope they will stay and contribute to
our community. “This emphasis on getting
them to look locally makes them feel like
they’re part of something bigger.”
For this final project, too, Amber focused
on coffee, unable to shake the feeling
that she would thrive in this business.
This final reflection on her plans to
pursue her business was reinforced with
encouragement and guidance from her
supportive parents. Amber was on her way!
When Amber graduated in 2018, she
was chosen to deliver the student address
at commencement. In that speech, she
shared of her experience coming to CFK
(then FKCC), “I quickly realized the
difference at FKCC. The atmosphere is
colorful and beautiful, teachers return
your emails, know who you are, and there
are so many opportunities. You can take
ceramics, scuba diving, business classes, you
can even learn how to cook. You can find
out what you like, helping you find your
path. I know I found mine.” And clearly,
Amber had found her path.
On September 4, 2019, A.M. Birds
opened its doors to the Florida Keys,
boasting delicious coffee drinks (of course),
mouth-watering pastries, and fluffy biscuits.
Among the many who were there for a
coffee and a biscuit and to celebrate
this accomplishment were the
friends Amber made in her
business degree cohort. One
even arrived before Amber,
volunteering to get to
work. “That comradery
they have — they really
support each other — it’s
because of the manner
in which we teach them,”
says Gueverra. “By the
time they get to the end of
their programs, they aren’t
just working in groups, they’re
part of a team.”
The education has continued as Amber
has put her ideas into practice. “Some
nights I was leaving at 10:30 or 11:00.
By the time I showered and got into bed,
I was already back up again. As time went
on, it became more of a struggle because
we were barely getting any rest.” But
Amber embraced the experience, and in
just a few months was turning a profit.
During the time of pandemic closures,
A.M. Birds has been temporarily closed
and using the time to make some
improvements. When A.M. Birds reopens
at the beginning of the new year, there
will be kitchen upgrades, an extended
coffee bar, and additions to the menu.
In her experience so far, Amber has
been most proud of making a name for
herself. “I became known as the biscuit
girl,” Amber explains. “I went into a bar
and a guy pointed at me and said ‘It’s the
biscuit girl!’” It is a moniker she embraces
as word spreads and this CFK graduate
makes her education work for her.
16 KEYS CURRENTS A PUBLICATION OF THE COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS
A PUBLICATION OF THE COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS KEYS CURRENTS 17