Cardozo Alumni Give Back to Teachers With “Dozo Duck Donuts Day”

Cardozo alumni Brandon Molina and Julio Cesar Caceda teamed up with the PTA to give back to teachers in a delicious way during Teacher Appreciation Week this year. The honorary week, which ran from May 5 to May 9, is a time to honor and celebrate the past and present teachers who have impacted the lives of students in creating a better future.

This year, Molina and Caceda — who are franchise owners of Duck Donuts in College Point — partnered with the PTA to deliver decadent donuts to the staff. The two alumni met 15 years ago in the same hallways many students wander today. Now, they are business owners of Duck Donuts, located in College Point, which recently opened just four weeks ago.

The idea to give back to their high school staff all started with a celebration at a girls’ lacrosse game. “Lauren Ackerman is the mom of a lacrosse player, and one day she called us and wanted to make a special donut order with the school colors — we thought it was Mets colors,” Molina said.

“She ended up telling me, ‘Oh, it’s for the girls’ lacrosse team, and we want to cheer them on; it’s their last game,’” Molina continued.

That’s when the idea came to mind. “We ended up talking, and she asked us if we could make donuts for the PTA to see if we wanted to do a Teacher Appreciation Day for Appreciation Week and hand out donuts, so we collaborated,” he said. “It’s so awesome to be able to give back to our high school.”

The owners enjoy helping their community and giving back to where their friendship began. But helping Cardozo is not the only way that the pair are giving back. Molina shared an experience he and Caceda had with teaching Girl Scouts the process of making donuts, as well as entrepreneurship.

“It was super cute, and reaching out helped us teach them something new — they had a great time,” he said.

In the future, Duck Donuts is excited to continue to support Cardozo. “We want to keep collaborating with Dozo and support our school and show our love for the teachers,” Caceda said.

He also reminisced about a special teacher he had who impacted his life. “Mrs. Kopec was always super nice. She told me one time, she said, ‘You have potential — you just gotta push.’”

Molina emphasized how at Cardozo, you never find yourself alone. “Cardozo is a great school — you’ll make many friends here. You won’t be alone. This is where we built friendships. We met here, and 15 years later we are opening our business — so it’s been an adventure.”