stanford's living room.
on call café was founded by design students who identified the problem that campus lacked a late-night third space to connect, meet friends, and build community. existing spaces either closed too early, felt rowdy, or were overly academic.
in 2023, a group of students transformed an empty space in old union into a warm, dimly-lit, student-centered café. open sunday to thursday, 7:30–11:30pm—students come in to study, grab a drink, and enjoy events hosted by campus organizations.
just over a year in, on call café has become a cornerstone of the student experience, having served over 88.8% of stanford's population. and it's still growing.
captain of the creative team.
i joined on call's creative team as a freshman in 2024, when they were just under a year old. since then, i've become junior captain, then senior captain, leading a team of 6 creatives to manage the café's physical and online presence.
keeping the whole ship running.
as a captain, my biggest responsibility is cross-team communication. every week brings a new problem to solve:
- the executive team just sent in a request for 100 custom stickers, needed for an event in 5 days. how do i reasonably delegate the tasks of graphic design, sticker production, and funding negotiation?
- the finance team reports that the molly matcha is consistently underselling. what can the creative team do to increase sales?
- the café team is suffering from low morale. what initiatives can the creative team come up with to boost employee satisfaction and motivation?
- the community and culture team planned a speed dating event for valentine's week, but turnout has historically been low. what marketing tactics might draw more people in?
the digital face of the café.
i manage the café's online presence across platforms, from website to social media. follow us @oncall.cafe on instagram and visit the website at oncall.cafe.
hello, facebook marketplace.
would i have guessed that joining a café would lead me to haggling on facebook marketplace? no, but alas. i worked within our budget of $1500 to source furniture from all over the bay area and helped design the layout of the space. i also manage the routine upkeep of rugs, chairs, and lights, and source student art for new walls.
making things happen.
at on call, large events that involve all teams are called "Big Ass Disruptions." creative handles all of the ideating and marketing of such events. classics include:
- november 3... on call's birthday
- valentine's week, a week of love
- admit weekend, welcoming the next generation of on-callers!
merch & menu photoshoots.
shooting products while maintaining brand identity. swipe to see some photography by the wonderful Kailani & Maggie!
business is always, always the people.
on call is so much more to me than a job. here, i've learned how to manage a team toward a common goal, how to mentor someone, and be mentored by someone (shoutout my mentors kailani and lucy).
above all, i learned that business—and any other project—is people. a team is not measured by its aggregate skillset, but rather by the strength of its community. i've learned first-hand: retreats, team-bonding, and check-ins are important. in a team environment like this, mutual trust is the most important thing one could cultivate.
i can't help but find myself deeply involved in projects i care about. i've found myself doing dishes until 1am and running emergency bread runs 15 minutes before opening. still, i come back to this community. on call has given me so much, and i aim to give that back.
my goal is to cement On Call Café as not just a startup, but a legacy institution. I might not be here to witness its expansion beyond Old Union within my four years at Stanford, but I know it will one day, and I hope to return to generations of On Call-ers to come.
