Freshman Rachel Lovell gathers her supplies and carries them across the street to her Nana’s house, where she bakes her cakes. Rachel separates the ingredients into two groups: wet and dry. Next, she combines the ingredients to prepare them for the oven. While they are baking, Rachel preps the frosting and fondant for decoration. After about 20 minutes, the cupcakes are done and have to cool. After adding the finishing touches, the cupcake is ready.

“I love to bake because it’s edible art, and it gives me time to relax,” Rachel said.

Rachel said this was only a hobby until she became fascinated by the show “Cake Boss” and wanted to become a good cake decorator. Rachel decided to create her business, Lovell’s Cakes at the beginning of this school year because she had a project in her marketing class and brought the leftovers to her PE class. Because she said they loved the cupcakes, she started bringing them to sell every Friday.

“I really enjoy making cakes and seeing the happy faces of those I give them to,” Rachel said. “Making other people smile and feel important is very validating for me.”

Rachel said she bakes cupcakes at least once a week with contribution from her mother, Kimber Lovell. She said her parents help out by driving her to the store to buy supplies, staying up late to finish her orders and encouraging her to chase her dreams.

“I am most proud of Rachel for her initiative and determination,” Kimber said. “I love how she gets an idea and goes after it.”

Kimber also said Rachel has learned a lot about time management and she has the satisfaction and confidence that comes from working hard to achieve her goals. Rachel has some of her own goals, too. She said she has learned from having her own business. This includes how to decorate cakes, how to create a website for her online orders and how to create a working budget to manage her profit. Someday, Rachel hopes to own her own store.

“I think it’s really definitely help me cope more with frustrating things,” Rachel said. “If you’re staying up to decorate a cake you can take eight hours and that’s a lot of time on a Sunday night, so it’s definitely helped me cope with frustrating things or things that take a long time. It helps you persevere and keep going.”

Rachel said when they customer is happy, then it makes her happy. She said this is why she goes through the effort.

“She has great decorating and baking skills, and it’s amazing how creative she can be with her business,” friend freshman Nada Bayazid said. “I’m sure she’ll open a great little store or something one day.”