The Science of Sprinkles

By Tiani Nelson

Reporting Texas

Undergrad can be a glorious four years of self-discovery and practice toward your dream career, but for some, it’s the reassurance they need to leave what they’d thought they always wanted.This is exactly what happened to Alex Posner, who graduated from the University of Texas in 2022 after following the pre-med track with a Human Development major and Family Sciences Advanced Honors.
The Invisible Ink podcast hosted cake decorator Alex Posner on Feb. 7. Invisible Ink is a visual-free show that is run by Ava Soodek, Tiani Nelson and Gracyn Strauss, three senior journalism students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The podcast seeks to highlight various creatives within Austin city limits and the impact they’re leaving.
For the podcast’s second episode, host Ava Soodek is joined by the owner and creator of The Dot Cakes, Alex Posner. Together, they discuss the trials and tribulations of putting aside one’s college degree and taking the chance at exploring the other possibilities of careers.
The podcast episode begins with Soodek, Nelson, and Strauss discussing their own experiences in college, and whether or not they see themselves seeking a career following the lead of their degree.
“I feel like I’m graduating a different person,” Soodek says about her time within the
journalism program. The three students agree that even though they still love their craft, a lot has changed with their perspective of the industry and the job opportunities they will have following graduation. “You take what feels like a passion project, and all of the sudden, it loses its passion,” Nelson adds.
Soodek then introduces Alex Posner, and they begin by discussing the path that led Posner to take the risk on this new business endeavor despite all of her education preparing her for the field of health and science. What had originally began as a sidegig in highschool, The Dot Cakes
slowly began to pick up popularity, requiring her family members to put all hands on deck.“I had full intentions of becoming a doctor,” Posner says. “I had graduated college, and I was studying for the MCAT…but for some reason this business was still here, and it was still going.”
Soodek and Posner reflect on the scary choice that is abandoning all that you thought you knew in your degree to attempt to build something new, and the hope that remains in taking a chance on yourself. “Once you realize the possibilities are endless…what do you do?” Soodek asks.
“This business, it’s once in a lifetime…this was my baby, and frankly, med school will always be there,” Posner concludes.