ALUMNI: Amy Goller

By Ainsley Dahl,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

After her years in the theater department at Davis High, actress Amy Goller found herself as a co-owner of an expanding coffee business, which is admittedly not what she expected.

Goller moved to Davis in second grade from Los Angeles and attended Saint James School for two years until she begged her parents to let her go to a public school.

“Honestly, no one in my family was happy to be in Davis at first, until they saw the opportunities they would have here,” Goller said.

Her dad was the chief of police at UC Davis, which gave her a unique experience when living in the town. Goller saw Davis as a city full of crime. Her dad enforced strict rules, some of which didn’t allow her to go on morning jogs or be out at certain times of the day.

Goller knows Davis differently from how it is now, due to her father’s work in crime, but she still wishes to visit the town. Goller gives Davis credit for her years of success after high school.

The 1981 graduate currently lives in Brighton, Michigan. The coffee business she started with her husband led her to the Midwest and has expanded to 25 stores.

Goller has had a love for coffee, especially coffee ice cream, since the age of 10. Her husband Marcus Goller, ran Cafe Roma in Santa Barbara when they met. Goller only reconnected with her husband when Cafe Roma moved to Davis.

Although their growing business was bought by another owner, the Gollers’ involvement in the coffee business is not over yet. They are currently working on opening a coffee and black-box theater in Brighton, combining her love for cafes and acting.

Acting was not part of Goller’s life until her seventh grade teacher Dorothy West heard Goller sing and dragged her into an audition. Goller scored the part and played a lead in the Ballad of Ron Michael.

Goller credits West with the start of her acting career, along with jazz choir teacher Richard Brunelle and theater teacher Evelyn Dewsnup. Having the right teachers helped Goller balance her busy, overbooked schedule and succeed in the arts.

Cathy Farman, a close friend of Goller’s in high school remembers Goller’s tight schedule.

“Between jazz choir and shows it seemed like Amy was always performing,” Farman said.

The support from her teachers at DHS allowed Goller to find her calling, making her high school experience rewarding.

“Academics are important in life, however, if you are a creative person those things need to be nurtured and paid attention to just as much,” Goller said.

Teachers at DHS helped Goller keep her mind open.

“Instead of being a singer who could act, I could be an actor who could sing if I wanted,” Goller said.

Goller’s move to the Midwest, and 10 moves in the following nine years didn’t stop her; she continued acting. Goller explored voice over work for commercials and collaborated with football player Howie Long.

As these jobs got too time consuming to leave family time, Goller looked at new paths. Although acting in plays, as she had done for years, may have been too challenging, coaching young actors or directing plays and musicals was less work.

“I was going to put my family first […] at this point in my life I wanted to give back more.” Goller said.