At ERHS, a new cookie vendor is shaking up the campus scene. This student’s name is Ally Carenzo, and she has been selling cookies as a side hustle. Ally is a freshman and a student athlete at Roosevelt High School. When interviewed, I asked her the following questions:
“Why did you start baking?”
“I started baking when I was about four years old with my Mom. It was a way for us to bond and connect. I felt like I was closest with her when I was baking. I picked up baking again around the sixth grade for an economics project, and after that, I fell in love with the craft again.”
“How is it managing school and sports whilst managing your business?”
“I’m going to be honest, it’s hard at times, but I manage to pull through with the support of my Mom and my friends. My biggest priority is always school, and when I find that coming into conflict with my business, I pull back from time to time again to focus on what really matters—my education.”
“What started the passion for selling your baked goods?”
“It all started when I started bringing some of my cookies and muffins to school and giving them out to my friends. And one of them had the brilliant idea of telling me that I should start selling them. I remember to this day what my friend Liz said, ‘People would pay real money for this.’ Ever since, I’ve been in the kitchen serving people’s hearts. Something that my mom has taught me is that words are a way to people’s minds, but the food you serve is a way to someone’s soul. And ever since I always put my all into what I serve my customers.”
When I went to lunch and asked Kat Yu how she felt about Ally’s cookies she said” I love them she makes them so good every time you can tell that she takes her time with her baking,” Yu states.
Ally is dedicated to her craft, and she really puts her all into giving what her customers deserve. While maintaining a 4.0 GPA and being in both water polo and swim, she persists and bakes her way into people’s hearts.
