Nursing Student Leads Student Activities Cake Decorating Workshop

Student Activities brought the art of cake decorating to campus last week through a workshop event, where junior nursing student Autumn Carlson taught other students how to decorate a cake using her own tips and tricks.

Student Activities wanted to give students an opportunity to learn interesting life skills throughout its four-part workshop series. They chose cake decorating as their third workshop focus, knowing that few know how to properly execute the craft.

According to Event Supervisor Andrew Reynolds, Student Activities was looking for smaller workshops that would bring students together to enjoy the process of learning a new skill in a safe environment.

“We just want to provide something that people can find useful, something that they would enjoy and to just get a break from school and work,” Reynolds said.

When Student Activities looked for an unusual but useful project that they could offer, they came across Carlson’s business. She was already teaching groups of kids the art of cake decorating, making her a perfect fit for what they needed, according to Reynolds. Carlson said she was excited about the opportunity to teach bigger groups, since she never had enough money to rent out a space.

“It made me realize that my business was taking off. They found my name from googling ‘cake decorating in Lynchburg’,” Carlson said.

Carlson’s love for cake baking and decorating began at a young age when she first started baking birthday cakes for her younger siblings.

“I made my first cake around age 11 and it was not a pretty sight, but as my siblings’ cake requests began to get more elaborate, I went to YouTube and cake decorating books to learn more techniques,” Carlson said.

When Carlson started college, she was paying for her own education, which meant work and school consumed her life. Balancing a job and nursing school was not easy for her, so she looked for a solution.

“I began to brainstorm ways to make money without the hassle of a full-time schedule,” Carlson said.

She decided to try cake decorating, something she had loved doing for years, into a business. In August of last year, she created her very own business called Autumn’s Cake Creations.

“Themed cakes are still my favorite, from princess castles to dragons, to unicorns,” Carlson said.

She began teaching classes out of her home and making cakes for the Lynchburg community. She quickly fell in love with it, and decided to quit her food service job so that she could focus more time on her business.

“It has been an answer to prayer, especially this year. As a junior year nursing student, school comes first, and I don’t have a lot of free time on my hands. Working for myself — doing something I love—has been God’s way of providing for rent, gas, and school bills.” Carlson said.

Carlson has a website, autumnscakecreations.com, and a Facebook page where those with a party coming up or a mere sweet tooth can order a cake or take cake decorating classes Carlson teaches. Student Activities also has Instagram and Twitter by the handle “libertysa” and is on Facebook by searching “Student Activities” where students can be kept up to date on upcoming workshops and events.

Reagan Lambert is a Feature Reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @Rea_angel665.