JUST BAKERY First Week of Class #52!!

Here are Athena and Gloria making their Vison boards, which is one of my favorite first week activities!

Hi my name is Florenzo.  I’m 47 years old, from Chicago. I have been in Madison since 1997.  I am a father and grandfather of 7.  I am motivated to take Just Bakery to improve my health and to start a food cart to promote better health for others.  I am an Israelite who struggles with health, mental, and physical, the community and staying on the righteous path.  I enjoy my children and my family.  My surprises in life are how much people are in love teaching in appropriate behavior knowingly.  In “MY” future I am a “LIGHT” to the world to show the “POWER” of the most high!  I want to be an instrument for righteousness, peace and divine love.  I am a negro Israelite who leads as an divine masculine.  

My name is Athena.  I am 39 years old and grew up in a small town named Lodi.  I am a single mother of a 16 year old son.  I’m very close with the family I grew up with.  I have three sisters and a brother that I have never met.  Over the last few years I have struggled with my mental health after witnessing the traumatic death of my son’s father.  These mental health issues have led to physical ailments which have caused me to lose my career as an insurance adjuster.  Losing my ability to work has brought on a whole new level of challenges in regard to stability in the life of me and my son.  After several years of substance abuse and trauma, my hope by coming to Just Bakery is to connect with others who have similar life experiences and the opportunity to connect, learn and support each other.  My joys in life are family, nature, and music.  I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying to decide what I would like to be when I grow up, given my new found circumstances.  Above all, I would like to be known for being kind, caring and accepting.  I would also like for my son to be proud of me.  

I am Cliff Simmons, A 51 Year old African American male (Black Man) what was born in Chicago, Il.  I was raised at and went to grammar school in the Ida B. Wells projects (ghetto.)  This was the worst project in Chicago at that time in history.  It was a big gang area and of course I was sucked into it, just as the majority of kids my age did.  That became my family!  I moved to Madison because my son was one years old and I wanted to make a better life for myself in order to make a better future for him.  This was Thanksgiving weekend 1994.  I’ve been in and out of the prison system since I moved here, I had no convictions (felonies) when I moved to Madison.  I’m now a felon and have adapted to that life style.  Because that’s really what it is.  You’re put into a different category in society.  I love to cook, I’ve been interested in food and cooking all my life basically.  I heard good things about Just Bakery and knew it was exactly what I needed to get me back on the right track in life and future.  I want to work in a field that I love so it’s really not work to me, but relaxing and comforting.  I am a food truck owner and I knew having the credentials of Just Bakery and Certifications behind me will help with my business and myself.  That’s priceless to me! 

My name is Gloria, I am 58 years old, I live in Fond Du Lac.  I have 3 beautiful daughters and 2 grandchildren.  Jameson, 16 Zymirah, 2 and a granddaughter on the way.  My girlfriend Tamra is the love of my life.  I truly believe God paved the way for us to be together.  I’m grateful to have my mother still in my life.  She was always a beacon of strength for me.  My family is my world, my life and my joy.  I enjoy creating art, the great outdoors and traveling.  I came to Just Bakery because I needed structure in my life.  My struggles are self confidence.  In my future I would love to get an RV and travel the United States.  I want to be content.