“That’ll be $2.50 without ice, and $3 for ice,” says Tina Gunter a 22-year-old graduate of Yale University. Gunter, like so many recent college graduates, has had a difficult time finding work in this floundering economy. So, she has decided to do what she did when she was younger and needed quick cash. She’s opened a corner lemonade stand in her neighborhood.

“I charge a moderate price for a quality product. I’m proud of what I do,” she claims. Quickly adding,“Of course I use my Yale education every day. I have to problem solve, you know. People ask me, ‘Why should I pay that much for a lemonade?’ and I tell them each person some different reason. I’m constantly thinking on my toes. It’s made me consider becoming a lawyer! If I can just make enough money this summer for law school…”

Gunter is not alone being a college-graduate-turned-entrepreneur of lemonade and other refreshing juice stands on corners of local neighborhoods. Mark Baker, a long-time resident of a quiet, residential street in Boston, claims, “They’re everywhere. They can’t find a job so they come here to drain the last bit of patience and money out of their parents and the rest of the neighborhood. They’re charging outlandish prices and berate you if you don’t stop for a lemonade on your way to work. It’s getting out of control.”

When asked if there was any competition for her corner lemonade stand, Gunter smirked. “Not anymore,” she said, smiling. “That six-year-old brat Heather Henderson tried to open up a lemonade stand last week right across the street from me. She was only charging 25 cents for her cups. I quickly put an end to that with a little mind trick I learned while in my sorority. Let’s just say, Heather will probably be scared of sugar for the rest of her life…” She winked, and quickly turned to yell at a neighbor who was trying to sneak into his car unnoticed.

Gunter is not sure what the future holds for her. She says if business keeps booming throughout the year as it did over the summer, she may never move out. Her parents declined to comment and the neighbors were too busy running from her to answer any of my questions.