To attend a summer camp in Germany, 11th grader Sofia Niño, sells Subway cookies in The Columbus School. Now she must ask herself if this is a realistic goal.

Niño sells daily around the school and reports she sells out her box of cookies every day. She plans to utilize her profits to attend a 3-week summer program at the German Language School (GLS) in Berlin.

“As many students and teachers know, I’m obsessed with Germany and anything that has to do with Germany. So for the past 3 years now, I’ve been trying to learn German… and I’m really looking forward to going to a summer camp in Berlin so that I can further my studies and finally meet the country that I adore,” Niño said.

Niño is enthusiastic about the trip but lacks her parents’ full support. However, she hopes that if she can split the cost with them they’ll be easier to persuade.

“My parents [are] really scared of sending me to the camp because, well, it means going to Europe alone. Also because I’m not gonna return, honey. As soon as I step in Germany I’m getting that visa,” Niño said when asked about her parents’ opinions. “I feel that if I have some backup money I can be like ‘Hey I can pay half of it,’ because like even though the camp is cheaper than some camps in the United States it’s still [in] Europe.”

Niño sells her cookies for 2,500 pesos each, and reports she wins around 100 thousand pesos per week. The summer camp itself cost 8 million pesos, and the tickets 4 million. Even if her parents agree to pay the cost of the camp itself, Niño would have to buy the tickets to Berlin.  Avery Berkowitz, the 9th-grade Algebra teacher, gives his professional opinion on the subject,

“I did some calculations, and if she sold 36 cookies a day for the 165 [school] days that remain, she would make 4.28 million pesos. This would meet her goal, but I just question how realistic that is. To sell all 36 cookies every day, to not ever eat any of her product, to not ever give any of her product away to friends,” said Berkowitz.

The cookie business is giving Niño significant capital that could be useful in her daily life, but even after breaking down her earnings and fact-checking her goals, she refuses to revisit her business plan or expectations.

“I’m working towards my dream, with a humble business,” said Niño.