Morgan Gerber, a pharmacy doctoral candidate, recalls being a happy 10-year-old who liked to bake and devoured episodes of Food Network’s Cake Boss.
Now the 25-year-old self-taught baker is making the cake for President Toyin Tofade’s Inauguration on Saturday, September 9.
Like many of us, she spent a lot of time at home during COVID-19 and would sometimes bake to pass the time. But after the pandemic, her passion for baking ramped up. When she created a variety of holiday cookies for family and friends, she wondered, can I make money doing this?
Despite the rigors of pursuing a doctoral degree in pharmacy, Morgan created an Instagram page with the handle, @Baked_by_MG and began to “quietly” promote her culinary skills.
“I mainly bake for peoples’ birthdays, weddings and baby showers in my small hometown,” said Gerber, a native of Camden, New York, about 45 minutes outside Syracuse.
She compares the art of baking to the compounding work she learned as a pharmacy student. “Everything has to be precise, and I enjoy creating things,” she said.
But she did not realize the cat would be let out of the bag back on campus. At the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Conference in Colorado in July, Dr. Jennifer Cerulli of the Experiential Education department and Associate Professor Dr. Kelly Bach innocently divulged Morgan’s secret passion to ACPHS President Toyin Tofade during a dinner. Word quickly got around because Events Manager Patty Tompkins and Pharmacy Practice Instructor Teresa Kane were soon knocking on Gerber’s door encouraging her to take on a new assignment.
Gerber accepted the challenge and has been given creative license to share her baking prowess with the campus community, higher education leaders and special guests scheduled to attend the Inauguration.
She hopes that she can continue to grow this passion and make it full-time side hustle. “I’m exploring New York’s cottage food laws and trying to become legit,” she said.
So how exactly does one balance studying to be a pharmacist with a career in baking?
“I like to be busy,” the self-proclaimed Type A personality explains. “There is just something so rewarding about creating something for someone else and seeing their reaction.”
After graduation, Morgan hopes to pursue a residency and continue her work with the Massachusetts-based Anticoagulation Forum with whom she has served as an intern since January 2023. She is keeping her options open for her next move and is very grateful for all of the support received from the ACPHS faculty.
And that sounds like the icing on the cake.
