Maya is the face of a generation.

Students I’ve studied with from Europe, Asia and South America — along with community-college classmates — are preparing for a future no one can exactly envision.

It’s said that the Mayas among us will pursue several careers, often as contractors without benefits, and may need to create their own jobs. They’ll start as unpaid interns while carrying serious debt.

Many of them believe that following a personal passion will serve them better than signing up for a traditional professional path — by dint of curiosity and dedication, they’ll find their way. They don’t worry about a steady income at the tender age their parents did.

Maya will enter the last year of an independent-study program. Her focus on Community Services includes English, Sociology, American Studies. She sees it as an insurance policy that her scholarships helped make happen.

Maya spends summers as a barista at our corner coffee shop. The encounter has made her more optimistic about life (a lift every undergrad could use).

She’s drawn to the precision, science and artistry of the craft; and the teamwork it requires. Hardest to master is the simple, elegant cortado. The espresso is to be just so. The milk needs to be exactly warm enough (never steaming) to lay down the right trace of foam.

Although the coffee shop adheres to Fair Trade Organic and Direct Trade practices, it’s not an underground or bohemian kind of joint. Maya brags on its homey quality.

She plans to continue as a barista after she graduates. It will give her breathing space and it may leave breadcrumbs she can follow along the way.

Does she worry about her future? “Not at all,” she’ll tell you, “but I do worry about ‘our’ future.”

Maya Crowe-Barnes is the face of a generation.