All photos by R.J Hartbeck for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
When Show Me the World Project first began, the idea was simple: Give students the opportunity to see the world, and, in the process, help them see themselves differently.
More than a decade later, that idea has grown into a statewide program supporting 150 students across St. Louis and Kansas City, with partnerships spanning more than nine schools. And students aren’t simply passengers on international trips: Through the program’s entrepreneurship and leadership experiences, they learn about everything from coffee production and global business to adaptability, collaboration, and cultural competence. They then put those skills to work, from selling coffee at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market to raising money for their own international travel.
The organization’s latest international trips offered a vivid example of how far that model has come. This summer, Show Me the World Project supported 60 students and Global Educator Fellows traveling from St. Louis and Kansas City to Costa Rica and Colombia. For the organization, the trip represented growth on several fronts: a new destination, a new Missouri market, and an expanded educational model.
In Colombia, students who have spent years learning the full farm-to-cup process were able to see coffee production firsthand and connect lessons in science, agriculture, and entrepreneurship to working farms and the farmers who run them. The experience also put their classroom knowledge into a global context, as students explored coffee’s role as a major export and learned about importing, exporting, and international business.
But the lessons extended well beyond coffee. Students were in Colombia during the World Cup and played soccer with Colombian youth from an organization serving under-resourced communities, finding common ground across language and cultural differences. One student who speaks Spanish was able to become an informal translator for his peers, and found himself in a new position of confidence and leadership.
That, Samantha Lurie and Sylvester Chisom say, is the deeper purpose of their work with Show Me the World Project. International travel becomes a vehicle for developing the durable skills students need for college, careers, and leadership, while expanding their sense of what’s possible.
The organization is now taking that model beyond St. Louis with its first Kansas City cohort, which traveled internationally this year. Show Me the World Project is already exploring opportunities to connect students across the two cities through youth leadership exchanges.
At the same time, the organization’s coffee enterprise has become a significant engine for its mission. Show Me the World Project coffee is now served at Midtown Cafe in the St. Louis airport, making it the only locally roasted St. Louis coffee available there, while a new fundraising platform called Show Me the Cause is allowing other youth organizations to use coffee sales to fund their own programs.
For Lurie and Chisom, the growth is exciting, but it comes with a deliberate philosophy they call “responsible replication.” The goal isn’t to grow as quickly as possible, but to ensure the organization can preserve the quality and impact of the experience as it reaches more students and communities.
We recently caught up with Lurie and Chisom to learn more about how Show Me the World Project is entering its next chapter with a model it believes can travel far beyond St. Louis.
Photo by R.J Hartbeck for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
You just returned from a significant international trip. Tell us about it.
Samantha Lurie: We supported 60 people — students and our new Global Educator Fellows — traveling to two different countries, Costa Rica and Colombia, over two weeks. They were from two different cities in Missouri, St. Louis and Kansas City.
Colombia was a new destination for us. We’ve traveled to Costa Rica more than 10 times at this point. So, we grew in terms of the number of people we were supporting, an additional region in Missouri, and our educational offerings.
Our coffee business has also grown a lot, which is a big funding stream for us. It felt only right to go to Colombia, where we were able to visit one of the richest coffee areas in the world and have students experience that.
What was it like for students to see the coffee process firsthand after working on it here in St. Louis?
Sylvester Chisom: We talk about the “full farm-to-cup process.” We’ve expanded things locally, so students are doing more with e-commerce, roasting experiences, and business management. But when they’re visiting a working coffee farm, they really see science and business come to life.
They’re talking about coffee and agriculture. They’re seeing the seedling go into the ground. They’re understanding soil quality and the connection to volcanoes and geothermal energy. They’re also seeing small-business owners who are farmers and understanding global business.
They’re learning about importing and exporting and understanding that coffee is a huge export from Costa Rica or Colombia. They’re also opening their minds to where the food in the grocery store comes from.
Lurie: When we first arrived, our tour guide told us how excited he was to lead this group because they were already so knowledgeable about coffee. They were expressing how excited they were to immerse themselves in the culture and learn about the coffee process and business in Colombia.
He said, “I’ve never had a group of teenagers come in and say that.”
That speaks to the engagement of our entire St. Louis community. Our students visit local coffee shops and learn at farmers’ markets, so they’re able to practice their skills because of our local community. They went all the way to Colombia and represented St. Louis by demonstrating that knowledge.
What does international travel do for students beyond the skills directly related to the program?
Lurie: The Forum on Education Abroad did a study looking at upward mobility and the socioeconomic impact of studying abroad. They found that students who studied abroad earned an average of $4,159 more in their first job — a 6.3% salary boost.
These experiences are career accelerators. When students first sign up, it’s, “Oh my gosh, this is so cool. I get to see the world. I never thought I’d be able to do this at age 16.”
But there’s a duality to it. They’re setting a goal they didn’t think was possible and working with their community to achieve that long-term goal.
They’re also developing critical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration. When you travel, nothing goes perfectly the way you planned it. It’s very hard to simulate that in real life. Those experiences build skills that can contribute to upward economic mobility.
Photo by R.J Hartbeck for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
You’ve also expanded Show Me the World Project into Kansas City. What does that next chapter look like?
Chisom: We like to use the term “responsible replication.” We’re not trying to grow too fast. We want to make sure the impact is centered around students having great experiences and unique, innovative educational experiences.
This was our first tour of students traveling from Kansas City, and the city has really opened its arms to us. We’ve built great new friendships and relationships.
We partnered with Made Mob, a Kansas City streetwear brand, and the students designed a T-shirt as part of their entrepreneurial experience. The professional designers came in and helped them create the graphics.
We also connected with the Kansas City Current. One of their star players, Rocky Rodríguez, is from Costa Rica. She came to talk to the students, and they gifted her one of the shirts. She wore it during her walkout at a soccer game.
It’s just an incredible example of what can happen when community comes together.
Lurie: We’re already having conversations about creating a cross-state youth leadership exchange. Now that we’re established in Kansas City, we’re looking at what it could look like for St. Louis youth to come to Kansas City, engage in sessions together, and build that leadership community across the state from a young age.
You’ve grown from 10 students traveling to one country to 60 people traveling on two trips this year. What does that feel like?
Lurie: I feel such a sense of pride. I’m so grateful because the more we grow, the more people are helping contribute to our growth.
This story is about students advocating for equity and understanding more about what’s going on in the world outside their own communities. It’s about parents who said, “Yes, my child deserves this opportunity,” even if they’ve never been out of the country themselves.
One of the things that has changed is that Sep’Tisha Riley, who was a student in our very first group, is now our first full-time employee and our program manager. Our program is so rooted in community that someone from our very first group is now helping lead it.
Students on this most recent trip were already telling us, “I want to be like Sep’Tisha. I want to help kids. I want to lead trips.”
We started with 10 kids and one country, and we just came back from a two-week journey involving two different groups and 60 people. We’re heading into 14 years now, and we’re really seeing the evidence that the initial dream the students had has become a vehicle for developing communication, adaptability, collaboration, problem-solving, cultural competence, and a sense of belonging.
Sylvester, tell us about how the coffee business has evolved.
Chisom: Two big things have happened. We are now the official coffee at the airport’s Midtown Cafe in both terminals. It’s the only locally roasted St. Louis coffee available in the airport, and it’s Show Me the World.
To think about the connection between community and travel — people literally moving all around the world or starting their travel day with Show Me the World coffee — is amazing.
The other big development is Show Me the Cause, our fundraising platform. We’ve seen how coffee has transformed our organization as a strategic fundraising tool, so now we’re offering that to other organizations.
Dance teams, youth sports teams, and soccer clubs can use our coffee to fundraise for uniforms, trips, or competitions. The organizations receive 50% of their proceeds, and we handle the logistics. They get their own website, and they don’t have to handle the coffee or shipping.
What’s next for the coffee business?
Chisom: We’re moving into ready-to-drink beverages. We launched our cold brew last summer and it was a huge hit. We’re now about 30 days away from having our cold brew in 12-month shelf-stable cans.
We see opportunities in stadiums, ballparks, and offices — anywhere people want a grab-and-go option. That’s also something you’ll see in the airport, with multiple airports across the country already in the works.
Photo by R.J Hartbeck for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Why is Show Me the Cause so important to you?
Chisom: Entrepreneurs are people who can change the world. When we use entrepreneurship right, we can help solve real social problems and unlock opportunity.
If there’s a dance team practicing every day for a competition, but they don’t know how they’re going to get the students to Fort Lauderdale, here’s something people actually enjoy that can help them fundraise.
It’s philanthropy through commerce in a different way. I would love to be able to say that we’ve supported other organizations with more than $1 million in funding through this coffee program. That really inspires me.
Lurie: I’m incredibly proud of Sylvester because he’s very humble, but he takes immense responsibility and pride in what he does. Almost a decade ago, the coffee was a brown paper bag with an Avery sticker that he designed. Now it’s the coffee in the airport.
We don’t get to supporting 150 kids in a year without his vision for the coffee and his hard work behind it.
It’s incredible to see where it has gone — and how something that started to support our own students is now creating opportunities to support other organizations and young people, too.
Looking ahead, what do you want people to understand about where Show Me the World Project is going?
Chisom: We’re committed to this work. Samantha and I and our leadership team know we’re going to be here for the next 20 or 30 years doing this work.
There are other cities that have the same problems and the same lack of exposure opportunities for youth. We see opportunity in places like Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. But we want to make sure we’re taking care of what’s in our hands first.
Lurie: We want this to be a story of community, resilience, overcoming obstacles, and creating something excellent for our kids.
Our students already come in with incredible resilience. What we’ve observed is that when they travel, that resilience can be applied on a world scale. They see that they belong in spaces they never imagined they’d enter. And then they come home setting larger goals and dreaming bigger. That’s what we love seeing.
Photo by R.J Hartbeck for Greater St. Louis, Inc.