not your ordinary bakery girl

By: Isabella Morhaim

Dortoni Bakery, originally La Bonne Boulangerie, has been a family business since 1976. However, there is so much more to the story than pastries and cakes. Sara Martschenko, now sixteen, has been working with her mom, Angela Martschenko, since she was thirteen. Sara was born in Oyster Bay, where her mom first started off as a bakery girl. Sara found herself following in her mom’s footsteps at the early age of thirteen. However, Angela was expecting another baby, so more space was needed for the mom and daughter duo than their home in Oyster Bay currently offered. Sara and her mom made the move to West Islip, forty minutes from the bakery without traffic. Both continued to work at the bakery, where, shortly after the move, Angela became manager. Sara was proud of her mom and continued to work at the bakery herself, though she had to learn how to balance her commitment to her family and the bakery alongside her school commitments. This is where her perseverance started.

Sara is now seen wearing number thirteen on the court with her new volleyball team and can frequently be seen with a book in her hands. But how is she able to balance work, school, home life, and friends? 

Do your work and family commitments ever create distractions from school? 
I, unfortunately, always have distractions, especially now, since I have three siblings all significantly younger than me. Sometimes I have to feed them, spend time with them when my mom is at work for eight hours, and change them. Work can be a bit stressful, like during the holidays, which can be overwhelming for me since I have so much homework over breaks. But, I’m definitely handling it better now.

Did you ever feel like you wanted to quit due to the stress? 
When I was playing volleyball this past fall, I wasn’t working and part of me didn’t want to come back [to the bakery], so I could have more time to myself. But, I knew how much it would mean to my mom, and it’s like my second family; I love everyone there, so I knew it was time to go back. 

Do you wish to continue this job, and possibly reach manager status like your mom?
I love this job and it has given me lots of opportunities, but I want to venture out and go to college. So, no, I don't wish to continue this job in the future.

How are you able to make time for school and friends when constantly working?
During the week, I mostly see my friends at work and possibly on the weekends. But then, after work, I get home at around 7:15pm. I eat something and then just do a bunch of school work. Sometimes I get really tired, but I have had this routine for so long that I just got used to it.

When you were younger did you ever hope to have more time to be with your friends? 
When I was younger, it was definitely harder to see my friends, but I made a lot of new ones when I started working. So I think everything fell into place and I wouldn’t change a thing.​