This guest post is by Madelynn Martin, a young woman who was accepted into the University of St. Thomas. She is an advocate for the Spring 2025 Making a Difference Autism Scholarship via the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference started by me, Kerry Magro. I was nonverbal till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at 4 and you can read more about my organization here.
Autistics on Autism the Next Chapter: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams was released on Amazon on 3/25/25 and looks at the lives over 75 Autistic adults. 100% of the proceeds from this book will go back to supporting our nonprofits many initiatives, like this scholarship program. Check out the book here.
My name is Madelynn AnaLouise Martin, and I was recently accepted into the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. I will be majoring in Business and Finance. I am an only child with special needs. I am high functioning on the Autism spectrum and come from a single parent household where my mother provided everything for me. I overcame a lot of challenges in my younger years. I was nonverbal until the age of four. I had a lot of speech therapy and early intervention just to learn how to talk.
I attended Hearst Elementary School and when I was in the third grade, my favorite teacher, Ms. Monaghan, told my mom that I was gifted in math. I loved numbers and my mom began teaching me about money. We lived in Washington DC and one weekend we took a train ride to New York to visit the finance museum. During this visit I learned about the stock market and how companies were formed and placed on it. It was so exciting and inspiring that I wanted to start a business with hopes of it making it to the stock market.
Weeks later, I had an idea to start a cupcake company. I had a passion for baking and a location to sell my products. Every two weeks I was going to a children’s hair salon and there were a lot of people there, sitting for hours, but no food. I knew all of the other girls in the salon would love to have something to eat while waiting as well as the stylist. I asked the owner of the salon if I could sell my cupcakes there and she provided me with my first contract to do so. I told mom about the opportunity and asked if she would support my vision. I knew that having the salon owner’s support would definitely earn mom’s respect, and it did. She said yes. She agreed to help me start my own business I’ve always loved baking and cupcakes were always my favorite desert. I was taught to own everything in my world. Mom said nobody can take away that which belongs to me such as education and whatever I owned. We owned our condo and I owned my business.
I named my company Madelynn’s Bake Sale and we created a brand. My colors were pink and purple. I had five flavors. Raving Red Velvet, Chocolate Ali, Victorious Vanilla, Grape Cotton Candy, and Loving Lemon. We launched my grand opening. I was 9 years old. We sold out of all cupcakes within an hour. It was an instant success. Every week I increased the amount of cupcakes that I delivered to the salon and every week I sold out. People began ordering my cupcakes for their parties and events. I started a social media account on Facebook and Instagram and my company grew even more. Business was booming and my mom left her full time job to support me because I was still in elementary school and was getting cupcake orders throughout the week.
My elementary school hired me to prepare cupcakes for graduation and other school events. I was interviewed on ABC news, honored and awarded by our Mayor, Muriel Bowser provided countless grants and awards. I was pursuing my passion, following my vision and it inspired my mother to do the same. As an addition to my brand she launched a children’s book collection Madelynn the CEO. The books tell stories of my entrepreneur and travel experiences. The books are currently on sale at Amazon. Business was booming and life was good. I was featured in newspapers and even on the cover of Washington Parent Magazine.
Then came COVID. No one was having parties and events. The children’s hair salon was forced to close their doors. The bulk of our sales were from the cupcakes. Mom returned to the workforce and my cupcake company closed. I was in business from the age of 9-14. I earned and learned a lot during that time. Covid was the worst because we couldn’t even go to school. Everything was virtual. I made the Honor Roll every semester and three years later I graduated from Jackson- Reed High School on a sunny day in Washington, DC on June 18, 2024.
Two weeks after graduation I enrolled in a program at the Sunflower Bakery in Rockville Maryland. Where I am currently learning to become a pastry chef in a professional kitchen. It’s a lot different than baking at home and I’m learning to bake a variety of products such as bread, cookies, pies and cakes. Their recipes are different and I’m learning how to make bigger productions. This is a six month program. Upon finishing, I will be moving to Houston Texas to start my degree program. I plan to work at a bakery as my side hustle to earn money for college. I want to earn a degree in business and finance with hopes of opening a commercial bakery after graduation. I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had that lead me to this point in my life.
College is expensive and my financial aid doesn’t cover everything. I need support. I need your scholarship to help me accomplish my goal and continue living my dream. If I could be successful in business from the age of 9-14 I can definitely be successful in business after earning a degree in business and finance. Your scholarship would be tremendous blessing. I’m already thinking about calling my company Madelynn’s Bake Sale 2.0 a continuation of where my journey
Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help us continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
Also, consider having Kerry, one of the only professionally accredited speakers on the spectrum in the country, speak at your next event by sending him an inquiry here. If you have a referral for someone who many want him to speak please reach out as well! Kerry speaks with schools, businesses, government agencies, colleges, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and other special events on topics ranging from employment, how to succeed in college with a learning disability, internal communication, living with autism, bullying prevention, social media best practices, innovation, presentation best practices and much more!
