Food 4 Thought: Paloma Rosania’s Mission to Bake with a Purpose

Samantha Gonzalez

Sophomore Paloma Rosania smiling as she begins to prep for the start of her organization “Food 4 Thought.”

Samantha Gonzalez, Staff Writer
Oct 7, 2022

Ever since she can remember, sophomore Paloma Rosania has always wanted to be a leader in the business world. A new addition to Coral Gables Senior High, 15-year-old Rosania moved to Miami in July of 2022 from Michigan to be closer to her family. Wanting to get involved with her community and live out her dream of becoming a business entrepreneur, Rosania is planning on establishing Food 4 Thought, an organization that makes and sells baked goods to fundraise for the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.

Knowing someone close to her who struggles with schizophrenia, a cognitive disorder that researchers still have limited knowledge on, Rosania is no stranger to the debilitating effects mental illness can have. This disorder has impacted their life, as well as Rosania’s in a negative way, considering that doctors do not exactly know how to treat it. With so many people unfamiliar with mental disorders, Rosania aspires to help those in need while spreading awareness on the topic through F4T.

“I think a lot of people believe that mental illness is a topic that has a ton of research on it, and is well known, but that is far from the truth. It’s something we know very little about, yet 1 in 5 people struggle from some sort of mental illness. I am hoping with these sales, I can contribute to alleviate the pain caused by mental illnesses, and find more information about the causes and effects of mental disorders,” sophomore Paloma Rosania said.

Food 4 Thought is not only about spreading awareness about mental disorders, but it also opens the door for people to make friends and get to know others at Gables. Members of this organization get to bake delicious pastries that they later get to sell. Participants can also work on the social media page of the group, design flyers and posters to promote the baked goods.

Rosania has lived in Miami for only two months, and has had to overcome the struggles of moving away from all of her friends in Michigan while adapting to the fast-paced culture of Miami. Not only has Rosania had to grapple with these obstacles but she also came from a small private school in Michigan. Now at Gables, a school with over 3,000 students, Rosania aims to become very involved at her new highschool and start Food 4 Thought to unite students that strive to help their community.

“I will be forever thankful for the girls on the cross country team that built a smaller family in such a big world, and they definitely helped me ease into things here. I will also never forget the first day when I was sitting alone at lunch and the sweetest group of girls, who are now my friends, invited me over to go sit with them. It is these girls from cross country and the ones who invited me to sit with them who are making F4T possible and helping my idea come to life,” sophomore Paloma Rosania said.

Rosania is organizing the first meeting for Food 4 Thought sometime in the next month; however, she is still awaiting the green light for the club to become official at Gables. With many goals set ahead for herself in the future, Rosania plans to live the upcoming school year to the fullest, achieving her lifelong goal of becoming a business entrepreneur while savoring the full high school experience in the process.