saturdays with suz.
Time for a little backstory. If you've read the website's about section, you already know a little bit of my story. It wasn't until my senior year at Indiana Wesleyan University that I started to have an inkling of what I'd like to do with my degree (in other words, life was really scary up until that point).Every Saturday evening, I worked the front desk at my residence hall. From 7:45 to midnight, I would stare into the lonely, open lobby, handing toilet paper to the occasional paperless soul that needed it. (There weren't many.) After a few weeks had passed, I wanted to come up with a way to make my shifts more enjoyable and practice baking.
Saturdays with Suz was born, and nearly every week I prepared a number of baked goods to hand out to anyone who came by. I didn't charge a thing - just asked for donations and input. A visit to the Suz Bakes Facebook page shows a little bit of history through the 2013 albums. Nothing fancy and totally amateur, but still mementos to be cherished!
The event was seriously so much fun - at each Saturdays with Suz I would present 3-4 different desserts for students to sample. Some would come just to munch, others would bring their instruments or board games and make it a night.
During the final encore event, I prepared a menu of nine different items and served a crowd of a hundred students and staff members over the course of the night. Paying for each Saturday's worth of baking was not exactly a slice of pie (ha-ha!) for a college student, but the university graciously funded the entire bill for my final event. Praise the Lord - I had gone a little crazy with ingredients that week!
I was enormously blessed to receive an incredible amount of support from friends, co-workers, professors, and family - and even people that I had never met until they somehow made their way to Saturdays with Suz. Weekend baking snowballed into catering for birthdays and holiday parties, and bringing in the occasional treat to share in classes.During the final encore event, I prepared a menu of nine different items and served a crowd of a hundred students and staff members over the course of the night. Paying for each Saturday's worth of baking was not exactly a slice of pie (ha-ha!) for a college student, but the university graciously funded the entire bill for my final event. Praise the Lord - I had gone a little crazy with ingredients that week!
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| Roommates, best friends, and dedicated supporters: Erin, myself, and Kate. |
It's a small start to a slowly surfacing dream, and I can't wait for what comes next and to share it with you all. For now, I am more than happy to be working in a small cake shop for the kindest woman who took me under her wing. More than anything, I want to learn from others - to witness their skills and hear their stories. And as I learn, you will too - because what's the point of learning in life if you can't share it with others?
you are kinda sorta really amazing! im glad you found passion in baking and pastry! don't you just love how easy it is to make friends/make people fall in love with you through baked goods?!
ReplyDeleteConnie, you are just the sweetest!! Thank you! Momma always said, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach"... and mommas don't lie. :) Food is just wonderful like that.
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