Every bakery rejects baker with Down Syndrome, so she opens her own shop instead.

Special Needs Baker Opens Her Own Bakery Despite Rejection

As a child, we remember our teacher asking us "what do you want to be when you grow up." And we answer that question confidently, seeing our future selves filling a role. Each one of us has a dream, and that includes even those who have disabilities.

The sweet baker Collette Divitto.

Just like this inspiring girl. Meet Collette Divitto. She has always been an avid baker. Since she was fifteen, she recalls baking every weekend for family and friends. So as her passion grew, she wanted to be a baker for the rest of her life. When she was 22, she quickly began applying for jobs all over Boston.

And she started with rejection one after another.

She used the rejections as a fuel to her success.

"Many people who interviewed me for jobs said I was really nice but not a good fit for them,” said Collette in an interview. “It was really hurtful, and I felt rejected a lot.”

By the numerous rejections, Collette began to feel conscious about her down syndrome and wondered if that was why she was facing a lot of "No's" in so many interviews. Despite these rejections, she decided not to let them discourage her from pursuing her dream and passion. With the help of her mother and her sister, the three of them set up a company with her called Collettey’s.

The famous Collettey’s cookies.

Soon after their company started, they received a recurring order from Boston’s Golden Goose Market! It followed with coverage from CBS, and by December of 2016, she had 10,000 orders to fulfill - wow!

“My biggest success so far is how big my company is growing, which means I can start hiring people even with disabilities,” Collette says.

Everyday, people with disabilities like Ms. Divitto faces a problem with getting a permanent job. But Collette is proving to the world that she’s more than capable of working, and even running, a successful business despite the societal stigma that surrounds her disability!

Collette with her sister.

Divitto’s mom, Rosemary Alfredo, believed in her daughter’s talents and explained that she never saw her as different from anyone else. “I never raised her looking at her as if she had limitations,” she explains further. I just said, ‘We all have them. We all have things we’re good at, and we all have things we’re not good at.’ You can call them disabilities. We all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. We don’t focus on that.”

Collete has something for those who lose hope - “never give up. Don’t let people make you sad or feel rejected. Stay motivated and follow your dreams.”

Collette receives an award with James T. Brett, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New England Council.

Recently she was awarded as the winner of "The 2017 Ad Club Admiration Award."

There's always a rainbow after the rain. We just need to get the courage and determination to pursue our passion. Like this young woman who put her talents and commitment to work, and her bakery is now booming with orders! She has shown the world that nothing can stop her and that despite what the baking community thought of her in the past, she has become truly unstoppable! Collette is indeed an inspiration to us all.

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”

- Stephen Hawking