Sandusky Resident Interns at Wendy Kromer Confections

2016 Sep 20

Sandusky resident Elisha Hofer, who is a junior business management major at Ashland University, completed a summer internship with Wendy Kromer Confections in Sandusky, Ohio. The internship was under the supervision of owner and pastry chef, Wendy Kromer-Schell.

Hofer is the daughter of Craig and Debby Hofer of Sandusky. She is a 2014 graduate of Sandusky High School.

Wendy Kromer Confections is a custom cake and pastry studio. Hofer was responsible for assisting with custom clients, order management, baking, prepping and making cake decor/decorated cookies, organizing daily activities, inventory control and order processing.

"The first major project of my internship was calculating the different yields of each cake recipe, as well as how many ounces were needed to get the correct cake height," said Hofer. "The next big project of my internship was updating different costs for ingredients. After all of the prices had been updated, I had to go through recipes and calculate the total cost to come up with the cost per recipe."

Hofer said her favorite project this summer was a 600 cookie order for the Republican National Convention Nominee Luncheon. "We had to hand pipe and package every cookie, and it took a few days," said Hofer.

"I have learned so much from this internship," Hofer said. "Everything from running the business to working with clients and making the final product, I have learned how to calculate pricing on cakes and cookies, and I have also learned techniques for baking and decorating." She said it is very important to stay organized and stay on top of everything going on in a business.

When asked how her classes at Ashland University prepared her for the internship, Hofer said, "My classes at AU helped me to be a rounded intern. I understand Microsoft Excel more in depth from taking my information systems class. This helped me update costs and the baking size sheet. My organizational theory class helped me immensely in starting to think like a business owner. My business classes played a role in my success in my preparation to one day start my own business."

She believes her internship experience will help her focus in classes by relating information to her future field. "After all, I plan on starting my own business," said Hofer. She plans on developing her business around decorated cookies and other baked goods.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###