Meet Alumna Naomi Hursh

Naomi Hursh
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Age: 37

Start Something New

“I’ve always loved baking and I’ve been baking since I was a little kid. I wondered, 'What if that could be my career?' So, I looked into the program and it took about a year to build up the courage to leave my state job and start something new.”

Naomi is an alumnus of SPSCC’s Baking and Pastry Arts pathway and is currently the head baker for Bon Appetit at Saint Martin’s University. After working for the state for 8 years, she decided to return to school to begin her career as a baker.

Naomi described the challenges of returning to college. “The most challenging part was the first few days of school. I almost dropped out,” she said. “I’ve done the college thing when I was 'college-age' but now I was coming back to school at 35 in a classroom of teenagers and people in their early twenties.”

Naomi found inspiration for baking around campus. Before enrolling, she visited the SPSCC library with her husband and saw the display cakes decorated by Baking and Pastry Arts students. “Is this what I’ll be able to do? How cool is that? I was so excited seeing those cakes in the library.” She later got her turn, decorating and bringing her gingerbread house to the library for display. “It was a very proud moment to see your work somewhere everybody in the school will see it."

Naomi learned to balance her responsibilities as a student and a parent. “There was a lot going on,” she said. “My son was in elementary school. My daughter was in preschool.” She was thankful for the Serendipity Children’s Center located on campus which allowed her to attend classes.

“The hardest part was when the pandemic hit,” she said. “School ended not just for my son but for myself.” Naomi adjusted to virtual baking for her remaining quarter, picking up ingredients from the campus and continuing her classes on Zoom while teaching her children when she wasn’t in the kitchen.

 “I was able to sit down with Chef Melanie and she talked to me about what the program entailed and how it could be adjusted to work with my schedule and needs to get the education I wanted to get out of it.”

Learn more about:

• Baking and Pastry Arts Pathway
• Serendipity on Mottman