Collette Divitto got tired of being turned away from jobs because of her down syndrome, she took her dreams into her own hands and opened a cookie bakery.
Collette Divitto has loved baking since she was 15 years old, she used to come home from school and bake something every day. Collette has always wanted to be a baker so when she turned 22 she started applying for jobs all over Boston, USA. Sadly she was rejected over and over again!
“Many people who interviewed me for jobs said I was really nice but not a good fit for them, It was really hurtful and I felt rejected a lot.”
Instead of letting that get her down, she teamed up with her mother and sister, together they started their own cookie company called ‘Collettey’s’. Their first big order was from a grocery store called ‘Golden Goose Market’. They bought Collette’s famous chocolate chip and cinnamon cookies. She now supplies them with over 100 cookies a week.
Collette is now 26 and her company is doing really well! She receives hundreds of orders from all over the USA and in December she posted that she had 10,000 orders to fill.
“My biggest success so far is how big my company is growing, which means I can start hiring people with and without disabilities,”
Collette hopes that her story will inspire others to follow their dreams, no matter what kind of obstacles they face.
“Never give up. Don’t let people make you sad or feel rejected. Stay motivated and follow your dreams.”
Her mother is extremely proud of all that she has accomplished but has never wanted her to think she had limitations.
“I never raised her looking at her as if she had limitations, 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.” – Rosemary Alfred, Collette’s mother.
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