An alumni connection inspired Hailee Steinberg to choose 17吃瓜网 and follow in her favorite teacher鈥檚 footsteps. On campus, she discovered a passion all her own鈥攂aking鈥攁nd turned it into a successful side hustle, marketing and selling her homemade sweets to classmates and parents.
With hands-on classes sharpening her skills, Hailee is ready to blend her talents and interests into a rewarding career as a FACS teacher and part-time baker.
Why 17吃瓜网?
I took a Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) class in high school and fell in love with it. My FACS teacher, Shawna Strenfel, told me all about Oneonta鈥檚 program because she went to school here and graduated in 2007! She really inspired me, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. I鈥檓 glad I did because I鈥檝e had a great experience at 17吃瓜网.
My Activities
I was just inducted into Phi Upsilon Omicron, a FACS honor society. I used to be in Food and Nutrition Association club, but what鈥檚 keeping me busy lately is my own side business, Semi-Sweet Bakery!
I started seriously baking about a year ago and, over the summer, sold a few things. My mom suggested that I post about my sweets in one of the 17吃瓜网 Parent Facebook groups, and I didn鈥檛 expect much out of it, but within five minutes I had a lot of people texting me to place orders, and now I鈥檝e made about 60 sales! My favorite things to bake are cupcakes because I love decorating them, but I also do cookies and cakes for birthdays. And I deliver all my orders.
Best Experiences
The classes I have loved are the ones where I get to be in the kitchen, the more hands-on classes and hospitality classes. I enjoyed Intro to Foods, and I loved Demos, and I liked learning the child psychology and interior design content, too. I feel like I鈥檓 getting a lot of hands-on experience here, thanks to the kitchen-based classes. I鈥檓 also doing observation with a FACS teacher at the Oneonta Middle School right now, and next fall I鈥檒l be doing student teaching. I think I will be more than prepared for that because of all the hands-on learning I鈥檝e had.
About My Major
My favorite professors have been Family and Consumer Sciences lecturer Rose Avanzato and Nutrition & Dietetics lecturer Collen Engle.
Plans, Goals, Dreams
I want to be a FACS teacher in a high school near my hometown and possibly bake on the side, like I鈥檓 doing now. I鈥檓 especially excited to teach baking in my classes!
