About Me...
About Me...
I was born in northern China and later moved to the south to pursue a degree in Business Administration. During college, I ran a small business specializing in creative Asian desserts for three years, teaching myself how to make desserts without an oven or complex tools, and becoming financially independent by the age of 19.After graduation, I was hired directly by Shimao Group at their Shanghai headquarters, where I worked in a Planning and Operations role. After a year, I decided to broaden my horizons and explore different cultures. I moved to Tokyo, Japan, where I studied and worked for three years. A year ago, I moved to the United States, and decided to follow my true passion and pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef at CIA.
Xindi (Cindy) Ma
Address: Poughkeepsie, NY
Email: xindi.ma@cia.culinary.edu
Tel: (267) 885-6392
Portfolio Website:https://sites.google.com/view/cindy-ma-portfolio/home?authuser=0
Professional Objective
I am a current Culinary Institute of America, Baking and Pastry Art Associate’s degree student. I have a background in business administration and management from my time studying and working in China. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, art and baking. I am looking forward to doing a Baking and Pastry externship in the Summer of 2025.
Skills
Skills: Cakes, Individual Production Pastries, Breads, Lamination, Pies, Frozen Desserts, Cafe Savories, Frying
Certifications: Servsafe Certification
Languages: Native Chinese speaker, N1 level Japanese, Fluent English
Education
Culinary Institute of America Baking and Pastry Arts Associate's Degree Fall 2024 - Present
Fall 2024 Coursework (3.8 GPA) - Baking and Pastry Techniques, Introduction to Hospitality, Principal of Menus and Managing Profit, Nutrition,
Spring 2025 Coursework (Current Semester) - Basic and Classical Cakes, College Writing, Individual Production Pastry, Introduction to Gastronomy
Recognitions
3rd Place Adult - 2025 Hudson Valley Gingerbread Competition, NY
2nd Place Amateur - 2024 Peddler Village Cupcake Decoration Competition, PA
Work Experience
Professional crafting vendor Doylestown, Pennsylvania April 2024 - Present
Sell handcrafted jewelry online, in third party stores, and at in-person events
Sell customized pet paintings and redesigned clothes online and in-person
Convenience Store Clerk Family Mart, Tokyo, Japan April 2021 - February 2022
Worked directly with customers in Japanese as part-time cashier and service worker while attending school
Business Planning and Operations Shimao Group, Shanghai, China June 2019 - March 2020
Performed business operations and planning for food and beverage product distribution
As a head office employee, performed data analysis on seven regional office sales to determine product performance and inform business decisions
Wrote food and beverage product descriptions and made social media marketing post
Personal Pastry Business Xiamen, Fujian, China Summer 2016 - Spring 2019
As a one-person business, created pastry and food products and then personally marketed and delivered the products to students in local colleges using social media
Designed unique products with low calories and cute packaging using a mix of western and asian styles to appeal to a younger female consumer base. Every batch of desserts would be different from the previous ones so customers would always be interested in the next new item.
Processed large orders for catering events for college clubs
Shipped desserts to customers from orders taken online
Previous Education
Tokyo Design Academy, Harajuku, Japan April 2022 - October 2022
Jimei University, Xiamen, China Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Management 2015 - 2019