{"id":163660,"date":"2026-02-06T11:22:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=163660"},"modified":"2026-02-06T11:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:57:08","slug":"from-barista-to-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/02\/06\/from-barista-to-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"From barista to CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rahul<\/a>

Rahul Balami is the CEO of ReyRey Caf\u00e9 and an accounting and finance double major at Wright State. (Photos by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

We talk a lot about going further at Wright State University. It\u2019s not because it\u2019s something we aspire to; it\u2019s a reflection of who we are. We\u2019re motivated to achieve and driven to dream. And we attract people to our community who aspire to achieve more. People like Rahul Balami.<\/p>\n

Balami is a second-year accounting<\/a> and finance<\/a> major from Chitlang, Nepal, who has always believed that taking small steps forward will lead to big adventures \u2014 and his first step toward Wright State was an internet search.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first searched all over the U.S. and started focusing on Missouri and Ohio because of affordability,\u201d said Balami. \u201cI found Wright State and saw how the business college<\/a> highlighted their student experiences, student opportunities and projects. And they had a student-run cafe. I knew I wanted to work there from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Balami started taking steps. Before completing an English exam or applying to Wright State, he signed up to learn more about coffee during a gap year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really passionate about coffee. I have been since childhood,\u201d said Balami, and knowing a possible opportunity existed when he arrived at Wright State was more than enough reason for Balami to step through the doors of Nepal\u2019s Himalayan Java Barista Coffee School.<\/p>\n

It paid off. During his first semester at Wright State, he overcame some challenges and landed the job he wanted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rahul Balami started his Wright State journey behind the counter at ReyRey Caf\u00e9 and, within a year, advanced from barista to CFO and then CEO of the student-run business.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMy English wasn\u2019t great, but professors were supportive and there was a lot of other help,\u201d said Balami. \u201cAnd when the students saw how passionate I was about coffee and was an international<\/a> business student, they hired me as a barista my first semester.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, it was Balami\u2019s drive and character that led the way. After witnessing his work, care and kindness with customers, intelligence, and drive, he was named chief financial officer.<\/p>\n

His work conducting cost analysis and streamlining budgeting helped improve profits for the business, and in one more semester, Balami was selected as the leader and CEO of ReyRey Caf\u00e9, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary and new location in Dunbar Library<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n

Wright State is the perfect size for opportunities like this to happen, but they don\u2019t happen to just anyone. You definitely have to take the right steps. And even though he seemed to make it happen incredibly fast, it started with small steps in Nepal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lesson that Balami learned from his own family: his father, a small-business owner, and his mother, whom he describes with a smile as a traditional \u2014 but very independent \u2014 woman who does a lot of service work, farms and gardens.<\/p>\n

Balami said he won\u2019t see his family in person until he graduates with his two majors in 2028, but he is already taking his next steps forward from ReyRey Caf\u00e9. Although he will complete this semester as CEO, he\u2019s already begun an accounting internship that he learned about from an accounting lecturer who is a regular at the cafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved working at ReyRey, but I need to explore. I need to expand my limits,\u201d said Balami, who hasn\u2019t decided what his final destination will be. \u201cI\u2019m still exploring my decisions, but I don\u2019t have to decide that now. I just need to determine what I can do better today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone\u2019s mom is probably very proud right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rahul Balami started his Wright State journey behind the counter at ReyRey Caf\u00e9 and, within a year, advanced from barista to CFO and then CEO of the student-run business. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":163663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,748,4906,726,2046,715,4298,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-business","category-finance-accountancy-management-information-systems-and-economics","category-homepage-feature-rotator","category-international-students","category-news","category-student-profile","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163660"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163694,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163660\/revisions\/163694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}