The only thing upside-down about Kelsey Hollis is how she bakes her cupcakes.
“I make these pineapple upside-down cupcakes that people go nuts over,” she said. “I get these bouts of insomnia and when I can’t sleep, I bake.”
Kelsey studied baking and pastry arts at the Art Institute of Indianapolis during the 2011-2012 school year. She has always loved to bake, but it wasn’t until she was watching Iron Chef and other TV cooking shows with her great grandmother that she thought about pursuing it as a career.
On those shows “they would build four-feet-tall cakes or sugar sculptures within an eight hour time limit. I decided that I wanted to learn how to do that,” she said.
Instead of how to construct towering cakes, Kelsey learned about building menus, pricing and restaurant management at the Art Institute.
Kelsey Hollis, shown here at the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland, just began an internship in the Sisters of Providence marketing/communications department. She studied photography, web design and video production in London last fall.
If you’ll be attending any of the cooking workshops at White Violet Center in September, October and November you might see Kelsey there with a camera to capture the action as the new Sisters of Providence marketing department intern.
She was able to flex her shutterbug muscles while studying photography, web design and video production in London last fall.
“The classes were absolutely amazing,” she said.
This cross-cultural experience enabled her to spend time with students from Germany, Russia and Brazil.
“I came back a completely different person. I learned how to think on my feet around people from different backgrounds. I think it made me more of a team player. I now think ‘what will benefit everyone’ instead of thinking of what outcome I want.”
This is one reason she is interested in immersing herself in the teachings of White Violet Center.
“At White Violet Center, there’s this philosophy that we are all connected,” she said. “I’m a hippy. I love communing with nature and being connected to everything. I like considering the big picture.
“I’d really like to explore journalism and social media from the White Violet Center perspective. I want to work for an organization doing work that is worthwhile.”
Kelsey is currently a media art junior at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Look for her blog posts between now and the end of November as she shares about alpacas and other eco-justice projects and programs.
You’ll also find out if she gets her wish for a chance to pet a chicken.