“I’ll always remember my first time going into this cafe on K Street in DC called A Baked Joint,” my classmate Peter Njoroge tells me from across the table at a different cafe, called Dayglow, in a different city, Los Angeles. “It’s the type of place where, if someone was to come to D.C., I’d tell them to go to Baked Joint. It’s just like this giant place, where all the baristas are so... everything’s just so urban, and interesting, and cool.”

I’ve only known Njoroge, a fellow foodie and member of my cohort, for a week before our interview at Dayglow. But when he describes his favorite D.C. coffee joint, I can’t help but share in the passion and excitement that drenches Njeroge’s every word. It’s a testament not only to his astute storytelling ability, but his natural charisma as well. 

“There’s also this tea shop, in San Francisco, in the Mission District,” he giddily tells me at our table on the sunny Silverlake patio over a cappuccino and cold glass of kombucha. “They don’t even sell coffee. They just sell tea. That’s what’s happening, and it’s beautiful, and it works.” 

Throughout our hour-long conversation, Njoroge gave the perception that it was a series of small miracles that led him to where he is today, passionate about what he’s passionate about. The first miracle, Njoroge tells me, took the form of his triumphant election to senior class president in his senior year of high school, to which he credits his luck and his ability to be charismatic when he wants to. His success in student government led him to apply (and get in) to American University, where he was set to attend as a student until deciding to pull out the August prior, due to financial concerns. 

After high school, in what he called his “accidental gap year,” Njoroge found himself unsatisfied. He felt lost. “It’s not like I was doing anything bad, but I just wasn’t applying myself. I had no direction, in any way, at all.” Then, another small miracle happened. Njoroge, after spending a lot of time at his local coffee shop, was asked if he wanted a full-time job. He accepted, and after working for the company for a bit, was then offered a position to work and train at a new location in Oakland, an experience that Njoroge chalks up to his current interest in food and wine. 

After working in the industry for a few years, Njoroge felt ready to go back to school. He ended up graduating from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Now, Njoroge is thrilled to be at the University of Southern California--even if it’s the last place he imagined himself ending up.

While Njoroge chalks up his success to luck and serendipity, it’s clear when I walk away from our meeting that it wasn’t luck, serendipity, kismet, or a miracle at all that led to Njoroge’s current success, but rather, a lot of hard work and passion.

It’s in his nature to be what he calls a “planner,” but for now, Njoroge is working on chilling out and going with the flow. “I realize, I have to be okay with going with the flow, and seeing where I land. I think there’s time to take a break if I want to. I think it would be difficult to make the transition between school and work, and I think that all I want is to live in a big city, that I like, with a job that I love where I do some writing.”