Chino resident wins over 100 awards at Los Angeles County Fair | News

“I realized my full potential when I was 14 and entered the Kids-n-Biz contest,” she said.

The Children’s Entrepreneurship Program, led by the late Reverend Cedric Reynolds, was designed for students in grades three through eight.

Since then, Ms. Nieto, 29, has started a business selling home-baked goods such as carrot cake and pumpkin bread.

In September 2015, she took home her first prize. She won a first prize ribbon for her carrot cake, a recipe from her grandmother.

“I was shocked and started crying because I thought it wasn’t possible,” Ms. Nieto said. “When I was little, we couldn’t afford for me to participate in anything, so I had to be frugal with my savings.”

Her grandmother, who was a baker in her family, died two years ago after battling Parkinson’s disease. “Her passing was hard on my family, but knowing that I have this gift, I can use it for my business and also pass it on to the next generation,” she said.

Ms. Nieto, a 2013 graduate of Don Lugo High School, was just three classes shy of an associate degree in business administration from Chaffey College when she realized she would have to take a break from her education. “I got so stressed out taking classes and dealing with financial aid that I got so sick I was in the hospital for three days,” she said. “I had to stop or I would have shut down.”

Ms. Nieto shifted her focus to the competition, with a goal of winning 100 ribbons. “When I look at all my awards, I know I made the right choice to quit college and make baking my career,” she said. “I know I can do anything I put my mind to, whether I’m autistic or not.” This year, Ms. Nieto received 11 awards from the fair, nine for artwork, including Best in Show for the Developmental and Physical Disabilities division, and two for her homemade breads, including a Best of Class award for the same division.

Jennifer follows recipes by the book and keeps careful track of baking times, her mother, Deborah, said. “She’s very planned,” she said. Her role model is Bartolo “Buddy” Valastro, who turned his family’s bakery, Carlo’s Bakery, into a business empire through the television show “Cake Boss.”

“People won’t believe this, but if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Ms. Nieto said. “His show started around the time I was first competing at 14.

“Seeing him made me realize that nothing is impossible.” Ms. Nieto turned her crochet skills into a project called “Cover a Friend at Christmas,” selling handmade scarves for $10 each fall and donating 10 percent of the profits to charities like Feeding America and the Autism Project. She enjoys painting with acrylic paint, creating whimsical art that her mother calls “joyful.” Ms. Nieto is currently writing a book series about a young girl discovering her talents, based on her own life experiences with autism.

She hopes she can inspire others with disabilities to make their dreams come true.