UAH Student Brings Taste of Alaska to Madison, AL
By: Max Reed
Alexi Florian lived in Alaska until she was 17 years old. “I never realized how different our lifestyle was until I moved to ‘The Lower 48,’” she said. “We didn’t live in igloos or ride polar bears to school, but what we valued and emphasized was different.”
Her time up north gave Florian and her family a “healthy fear of nature…and a sense of solidarity with humankind.” Additionally, they got used to quality coffee on every corner.
In 2021, Florian’s family moved three times with her father’s work, first to Hawai’i, back to Alaska, then settling in Madison, Alabama. “My plan was never to go to college. Somehow [though], I was convinced to apply to a few schools in my area.” Florian is happy to say she does not regret the decision. “UAH has provided me with some of the best learning experiences and community that I have been around in my life.”
As a junior, Florian was selected to be a 2023 Ambassador of the College of Business. “I am proud to work alongside my fellow ambassadors,” she says, “providing a welcoming environment to business students, and it has been an honor to rub shoulders with Dean Greene, Ms. Pettitt, Mona Foroughi, Drew, Lacy, and the guests they bring in.”
Florian is also the president of the Women in Business and Leadership Club. “I hope to facilitate opportunities for our members,” she says, “with each other and with contacts inside and outside of UAH.”
But, Florian says, “my proudest achievement is known as Crème Brew Lait.” This is her family’s drive-through coffee shop in Madison. “It all goes back to my Alaskan roots. I have been working in coffee since I was 16.”
“When we moved to Alabama, we were struck by the utter and complete lack of quality coffee shops.” So, Florian and her family decided to open their own. “We got the idea over dinner one night,” she said. “We got someone to draw up the plans, contacted a friend who roasts coffee, and found a plot of land that was much too good to give up.”
Florian now serves as Crème Brew Lait’s manager. “My job these days focuses mostly on operations, supply, hiring and training, and recipe development. My next goal is to develop a foolproof training program that can be replicated on baristas in ours and other coffee shops.”
She says starting a business as a full-time student is not easy, and Florian has needed her Alaska-born resilience to get up every morning and face inevitable obstacles.
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