BREWING HER OWN PATH

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July 25, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

For alum Allison Pilot NDP'25, Bloom and Bean is more than a coffee business — it's a dream built on a school mission, hard work and community.

Some graduates leave Notre Dame Prep with a carefully mapped-out plan. Others discover their calling by creating something entirely their own.

For Allison Pilot NDP'25, that calling arrived in the form of an old horse trailer, a love of coffee and an entrepreneurial spirit that refused to take the traditional route.

Just months after graduating from Notre Dame Prep in 2025, Pilot launched Bloom and Bean, a mobile coffee business that has quickly become a favorite at farmers markets, community events and private celebrations throughout Oakland County. Operating out of a horse trailer she and her father purchased through Facebook Marketplace and painstakingly transformed into a fully functioning coffee trailer, Bloom and Bean has become a reflection of Pilot herself — creative, welcoming and fueled by a genuine desire to bring people together.

The business recently caught the attention of the Oxford Chamber of Commerce, which featured Bloom and Bean as one of its newest member businesses.

While many of her classmates headed directly to four-year universities, Pilot chose to pursue another passion alongside her education. She is studying business management at Oakland Community College with plans to continue her education at Oakland University, all while growing a business she hopes will continue to expand.

"I would love to get a second trailer and keep the mobile business growing because it is so fun getting to bring coffee to different places and events," she said. "A permanent location would be super cool and allow for more space, but I'm also really interested in the roasting and farming process, so I guess we'll see."

A love of coffee — and people

Pilot laughs when asked if she drinks coffee herself.

"Yes, of course I drink coffee!" she said. "I could not last a day without it."

What began as a family tradition eventually became something much deeper. Inspired by visits to coffee farms in South America and Africa, she developed a profound appreciation for the people behind every bean and every cup.

Her signature espresso blend combines beans grown in Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica before being locally roasted in Auburn Hills, giving Bloom and Bean both global roots and a distinctly local flavor.

But for Pilot, coffee has always been about more than what's in the cup.

"I love Bloom and Bean because I get to show up and meet people every day," she said. "I get to talk to them over coffee and learn about them and their lives. Then they come back and see me the next week and we get to build a relationship over the best thing ever — coffee."

It's an outlook rooted in connection, hospitality and community — values she says were reinforced throughout her years at Notre Dame Prep.

The confidence to follow an uncommon path

Pilot spent seven years in Notre Dame Prep’s middle and upper schools, where she found both academic challenges and a strong support system.

"My time at Notre Dame Prep taught me a lot," she said. "It is definitely super challenging academically, which is something I am now super grateful for. The teachers at NDP are awesome and truly care about all of their students."

Perhaps most importantly, she says, they supported her decision to pursue an entrepreneurial path that wasn't always understood by others.

"I received so much support from my teachers about going down this 'untraditional' path," she said.

She also credits her years in the volleyball program with helping shape the person she is today.

"It helped me grow so much as a person, and I made lifelong friends from the experience."

Living the mission

When asked how Notre Dame Prep's mission continues to influence her, Pilot immediately points to one phrase: forming "upright citizens."

"I think a big part of that is believing in yourself — even when others say it's not going to work — working hard, being a genuinely kind person, helping others and deeply wanting what is best for your community," she said.

Those words have become something of a blueprint for Bloom and Bean.

Launching a business at 18 has meant learning every aspect of entrepreneurship — from licensing and permits to accounting, inventory, social media, contracts and booking events. It has also meant persevering through doubt.

"A lot of people were upset I wasn't taking the traditional path," Pilot said. "A lot of people told me it would never work and I was making a mistake."

Instead of discouraging her, those experiences strengthened her resolve.

"I work super, super hard because this is my dream and my passion and I truly believe in what I am doing."

A Notre Dame Prep graduate through and through

Every Notre Dame Prep graduate leaves campus with a unique story to write.

Some will become physicians, engineers, teachers or artists. Others, like Pilot, become entrepreneurs who build something from the ground up while continuing their education and investing in the communities around them.

Her journey is another example of how Notre Dame Prep's mission — working with God to form Christian people, upright citizens and academic scholars — continues long after graduation. Whether she's serving a handcrafted latte, welcoming a first-time customer or planning the next chapter of Bloom and Bean while preparing for OU, Pilot is living out the values that helped shape her in high school.

And if her story is any indication, this is only the first chapter.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.