NEW YORK — High school student Melina Sosa, 17, sometimes can't believe she runs a concession stand at Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets. 

"When I tell people, I'm so proud, like, 'Look, I work here!'" said Sosa, who is a senior at Food and Finance High School in Manhattan. 

Sosa has been a member of the Food Education Fund, a nonprofit that provides high school students with culinary internships — giving them real-life experience to run their own businesses, all while earning funds for college through scholarships — since she was a freshman.

She and other FEF students manage a Barclays Center concession stand called "School Grounds," setting up, overseeing and running each aspect of the business. 

“They told us this year on our internship program that this was an opportunity, and so I took it," Sosa said. It's opportunity many culinary hopefuls would jump at; inside Barclays Center, there are fans of more than just basketball.

“There’s actually this customer who comes here every day and says, 'I’m solely here just for the empanadas,'" Sosa said. 

Haydee Bautista helps create the stand's menu and makes the food by hand, from cooking the filling and prepping the dough to stuffing and sealing the empanadas.

“We have red peppers, green peppers, mushrooms, potatoes and green beans in this empanada," Bautista said, pointing to the vegan and vegetarian option. They also make beef and chicken empanadas, a crowd favorite.

Bautista said her love for cooking came from her father. He emigrated from Ecuador at 16 years old and used his cooking skills to survive, she said.

“Growing up, he would want to teach me, because he said, ‘This is a lesson you’re gonna need in life,'" she said. That lesson is now paying off in a big way: Sosa and Bautista plan to turn their passions for food into full-fledged careers.

"We’re definitely going to come out of here with so much knowledge of the industry,” Sosa said.

By the time 6 p.m. rolled around on Friday, Bautista and Sosa were hard at work behind the “School Grounds” counter, watching orders come in. Some patrons were surprised to hear their food was prepared by teenagers.

“That was so good," Ryan Ventura said. 

“Amazing! 12 out of 10," Andrew Fortunato added. 

For Bautista and Sosa, standing out in a crowded field of food stands is difficult. But they know they bring something extra special to the table.

“You take a bite into it, and you don’t think 'restaurant,'" Sosa said. "You think, 'home.' That's what New York is about. It's home."