People, Campus & community, Profiles

Transfer student's path to Berkeley? Cheesecakes

By Stephen McNally

Anamara Morales cheesecake business, College Confectionista , has helped her pay her way through college. (UC Berkeley video by Stephen McNally)

Anamara Morales was a senior in high school, overwhelmed with the charges of AP tests, college applications and the daunting cost of tuition when she decided to take a break and bake some cheesecake.

My mom gave one to her coworker and they absolutely loved it, she recalled recently. She gave me $40 for the cheesecake and a lightbulb went off. I thought this is it, this is how I am going to do it. This is how I am going to fund my higher education.

The business took off, giving Morales enough money to fund three years at Santa Rosa Junior College and save up another two years of tuition.

On Wednesday, she starts classes as a new transfer student at UC Berkeley, one of 2,900 new transfer students and 6,400 new first-year students .