About Me

Hello! My name is Haley Potter and as a Cincinnati native I have learned about the incredibly rich food culture of Cincinnati throughout my life. Luckily for me, it was something I was raised, having grown up with two adventurous parents. Experiencing the food culture of Cincinnati growing up was one of my favorite weekend activities with my parents, twin sister, and two older siblings. Food was an avenue of expression for countless cultures but also of love and artistry. It made me respect other cultures deeply and appreciate the common ground I have with complete strangers. While I learned this on the iconic food alleys of Cincinnati, I realized this most deeply in the kitchen with my parents. My mom and dad contribute to the food my family makes in different ways; however, I will admit my mom does have unparalleled love and natural talent for cooking. It was with her that I first fell in love with cooking. My mom doesn’t really believe in recipes so I can’t say she’s given me anything specific past a style of cooking and what I've gleaned from her most is that I can’t ever screw up that bad. I rely heavily on this belief and it has become seared into all aspects of my life after screwing up and it never really being THAT bad.

 

The love of cooking I inherited from my family is incredibly relevant to my own personal wellness goals and acts as a medium for exploration into my other passions like chemistry, nutrition, and learning about other cultures as well as an outlet for creativity. ​

 

Cooking and food is just one example of how my passions and interests propel me towards my future. Cooking is a huge interest of mine, along with movies, reading, chemistry, politics, philosophy...(I could list many more but you get the idea) and I believe all of these fall under the category of aiding in my journey to learn more about the world through a scientific lense. I believe all of these things allow me to see the world in a more complete view and it is at the core of what drives me as person.

 

In my most basic essence I am curious and willing to try anything. Whether I explore a new hobby, style of cooking, book genre, movie director or have a new experience, I truly believe that it will aid my desire to more completely understand the world. Academially, I pursue this goal through chemical engineering. Chemical engineering allows me to take full advantage of a logical thought process that is also inherently creative and gives me the oppurtunity to learn complex chemistry, physcis, math, and design. I plan to use the skills I gain in The College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati to better the world and reach closer towards my goal of understanding the innumberale beautiful aspects and phenomena of the world around us.