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When the nation's bankers show up to work in New York City and shuffle in line at the coffee bar, Virginia Vargas has already been on her feet for two hours.

Vargas arrives at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where regional bankers make decisions that shape US economic policy, by 6am to start prepping the office coffee bar. By 8, she is ready to greet employees in need of a jolt of caffeine with a smile.