I started making cookies as a freshman in high school as a campaign strategy to become Class President, a role I held for three years. I then continued the business to fund my track career because my family wasn’t very well off. I was a hurdler and started from the bottom, not knowing the proper form or what I could accomplish. By the end of high school, I’d earned myself the title of State Champion in the 300m hurdles, Valedictorian, and got into Ithaca College in the MLK Scholar program.

Cookies were my rock through all of the trials I underwent in my high school years and served as an avenue for my creativity as well; I constantly experimented with flavor combinations and took the hardships of business and my life in stride.

Being a poor black woman in America was one of the hardest trials of all. I learned early on how to navigate the world as a minority and where I would face hardship that others may not. All of the adversity I faced merely became a hurdle that I masterfully glided over. See, in hurdles, you don’t jump, you lean forward and glide over it with power in your stride; and in the landing, you propel yourself forward even faster.

That’s how I have approached life. I’ve learned through the years that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. I’ve been navigating a full-time college career, pushing a business, working multiple jobs, and modeling. It’s a lot, but it’s also a ton of fun.

Through the culmination of my experiences, I’ve discovered I simply can’t stand by and watch the injustices in America continue the way they have been for hundreds of years. I made it through my younger years hanging on by a thread at first, then conquering that mountain of strife. Now, because I understand I can make a difference, I want to help students that know the same struggle as me and at the same time give the community these cookies that began in the kitchen at age 14 when I was just struggling to feel like a person. They hold so much power and such an amazing taste that I’ve had people tell me they’d sell their soul for them!

Head to the shop tab and reflect on the difference you’re making by supporting Via’s Cookies. :)

-Via