While many students worry about their next big game, an upcoming test or challenging homework, Concordia High School (CHS) April Student of the Month Elodee Kindel seemingly handles her various obligations with ease. According to her, she’s driven by her passion for business and one day becoming her own boss.
Elodee is the daughter of Loni and Darin Kindel and has lived in Concordia her entire life. She said that her family has deep roots in the North Central Kansas region, where many longtime residents often recognize her last name.
Even with a familiar name, many Concordia residents would recognize Elodee from behind the Jitters Coffee Shop counter, since, according to her, she spends the majority of her time in the downtown cafe.
“I work a lot,” Elodee said. “Since I was little, I liked the idea of being my own boss, you know, not having to listen to anybody else.”
Although Elodee has her eyes set on the future, she doesn’t neglect the obligations in front of her. While she has a 3.9 GPA, Elodee also participates in multiple extracurricular activities like being a business ambassador for the Career and Technical Education program, uplifting her fellow students through Friends of Rachel and singing in the high school choir.
Beyond work and school, though, Elodee said she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, shopping and being outdoors. Her love for working for Jitters owners Gretta and Jeremy Snapp easily shone through the rest of her listed interests, as now she dreams of owning a shop of her design in downtown Concordia.
Initially, though, Elodee aspired to move away from the rural area, but conversations with a few loved ones shifted her view of the small-town life.
“If you asked me last year, I’d say, ‘Oh, probably on an island,’ or something, but my boyfriend’s oldest sister moved away and had kids and everything, and she always talks about how much she misses home and wishes her family would be a part of her kids’ lives more,” Elodee said. “That kind of took it in perspective for me, because with my three younger siblings, I couldn’t imagine not picking them up from school every once in a while or spending time with them or anything. So, I think I'll definitely stay around here; I think I’d even miss Gretta too much.”
Elodee said that she’s worked closely with Gretta in the five years that she’s worked for Jitters and that witnessing the Snapps interact with customers and make business-savvy decisions grew her passion for entrepreneurship.
“Gretta remembers everybody,” Elodee said. “I look up to her in a lot of ways, just like the way she talks to people and the way she remembers them. Working with her on specials and stuff, just the way her brain works; I like to take those parts and use them myself.”
She continued, “I love all my regulars, but I also love when new people who have never been to Jitters come in, because you get to take that extra step to make it really special for them.”
According to Elodee, she’s learned myriad skills that she plans to take to her own business venture someday, including multitasking, patience and memory.
One skill she’s quite grateful for is one that Gretta is known for: communication. Elodee said that when she began working for Jitters, her coworkers would joke that she would never speak and just made coffee.
“I think one day Gretta just broke me, and I’ve never shut up since, if you ask her,” Elodee said through a smirk. “But there are times with training people or taking somebody’s order, and if you’re busy, you have to stay patient and kind, but I’ve also definitely learned cooking, cleaning and coffee-making skills.”
With a business-savvy mind and a passion for entrepreneurship, Elodee said she sees herself at least beginning the work to open her own business in Concordia within the next five years. Her future plans are relatively simple on paper, including opening a business, getting married and having kids, but she understands the work it’ll take to make it all successful.
Congratulations to Elodee Kindel, the CHS April Student of the Month.
