University of Houston-Victoria junior Sophia Jorski of Katy found a way to turn a childhood hobby into a business.

Sophia Jorski

Jorski’s longtime love for baking is the inspiration for Summertime Cakery, a custom cake business in Katy that she runs from her home kitchen three months out of the year when she is taking a break from classes at the UHV Katy Campus.

Jorski, who is working toward earning a Bachelor of Business Administration, said her bakery business is the best way she knows to gain real-world experience.

“The business started because I had so much fun baking,” Jorski said. “When I am not in school, I am in the kitchen. I was making too many baked goods that my family could not eat. I had to decide what to do with it all.”

Jorski, 19, took two cake design classes at the age of 14. She began her business by word-of-mouth between her freshman and sophomore years of high school after watching how-to YouTube videos and reading cake design books from the library.

Jorski took her mother’s cake and frosting recipes and made them her own by coming up with 13 different flavors that are either “traditional” or “unusual.” One of the best sellers is a wine cake. The flavors all are reminiscent of summer, she said.

Jorski’s business also focuses on the artistry of custom cake design.

“I love coming up with designs for people,” she said. “I like to see how excited they are when they get to see the design, whether it is a birthday cake or a wedding cake. Cake is the best dessert to develop artistically, and it tastes amazing.”

Looking for a way to network with other business owners, Jorski joined the Katy Chamber of Commerce. It was through the chamber that Jorski found out about UHV.

“I got emails from numerous colleges, but I found out through the Katy Chamber of Commerce that UHV was having an open house,” Jorski said. “I went and liked what I saw. I liked UHV’s location and flexibility, and it worked best with what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go.”

She transferred in the fall to UHV from Houston Community College. This semester, Jorski is taking statistics, business ethics, cost accounting, intermediate accounting and computer systems classes with a focus on accounting.

“I like the number of economics, finance and marketing classes that UHV has to offer,” she said.

In addition to her classes, Jorski said her chamber membership has been an invaluable experience for business development.

“The best part about being a member of the chamber is getting to meet so many business people who own different types of businesses,” she said. “I learned so much from their experience.”

Jorski said her fellow chamber members also helped her decide on a major.

“I began asking other business owners, ‘What degree do you have, and what degree do you wish you had if you could do it all over again?’” she said.

Jorski intends to pursue a Master of Business Administration.

“That will take up the next couple of years, but my end goal is to eventually own my own business that is full time and will support me,” Jorski said. “Baking will be the first business I will do, but I will not rule out eventually going into other businesses.”

Jorski said owning a business at a young age has been the best practicum.

“I think it’s helped me understand the bigger picture of how a business works,” she said. “A lot of times, textbooks are narrowed onto specific issues. Seeing how it all works together, how different things affect each other and having to figure out different issues has helped me. It is a real application of what I am learning.”

I am a Jaguar is an online feature highlighting the exceptional students who attend the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a student, contact Jeremy Shapiro, UHV communications manager, or call 361-570-4296.