Nikki Miller-Ka is a powerful and inspiring woman who has worked so hard to make it to where she is today. Her story involves following her specific passion and doing hard work until she got where she wanted to be. “I am literally living my dream,” says Nikki. “My job is traveling the world, eating, drinking, having a good time, and writing about it.”
Nikki graduated from ECU and planned on being a teacher, but when she found herself in an internship with a reporter, she discovered her passion, and her love for writing was unveiled. After being able to shadow this woman who looked like her and did something she wanted to do, she was set. “Representation really matters,” says Nikki when describing the importance of having every kind of person in every kind of role. She went on to work as a journalist, and quickly realized the topic she wanted to cover: FOOD. The job wasn’t exactly available where she was, so Nikki took her experience and started Nik Snacks, her food blog!
After discovering her love for writing, she paired it with her love for food. “I like to eat, I like restaurants, and food is an integral part of life,” Nikki shared. She discovered that her favorite things to do involve food and writing, so why not combine them? With her previous education in English, she chose to then pursue education in food. Nikki explained that learning how to cook and learning about food are totally separate and different ideas. She wanted to be able to do both, so she packed herself up and moved to Florida to pursue a degree at Le Cordon Bleu-Miami, a culinary arts school.
While learning at Le Cordon Bleu-Miami, Nikki kept her specific passion and goal at the forefront of her mind throughout. She wanted to be a full time food writer. Not many others in culinary school were able to have such a clear purpose for their future, but Nikki’s never wavered. She left Miami with a bundle of creative culinary energy that she needed to get out. “I had to find a way to make a career out of this,” said Nikki.
While writing for multiple different publications, Nikki was able to make valuable connections in the industry that she still values to this day. She was hired at one of the oldest and most renowned food publications in America, and even had the sixth most popular recipe on their entire website at one time! She worked very hard and accomplished a lot, but after spending time giving this venture her all, she felt it was time to move on to the next chapter.
“I literally let go and let God,” said Nikki. “People say that all of the time but don’t feel it in their soul.” She released everything, hit the ground running, and opened her eyes to see what was next. This is when she began to truly live her dream. Now, as a full time freelance food and travel writer, Nikki has gotten the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic, resorts in Florida, Puerto Rico, Portland, and more! When asked about a typical day in her life, she compared her schedule to having a “well oiled machine.” Nikki is running a business, and she is the business. From customer relations, schedules, meetings, logistics, social media, and much more, she is the woman behind it all! She has her own hours of operations, and boundaries as well, that make her a success.
Nikki can be an inspiration to us all – she discovered her passions, put in the hard work, and is living out her true dream. She makes the world a better place with her love of writing and food. Check out Nikki and all she has to offer online and on her socials.
“Bite it and write it. That’s what I do.” – Nik Snacks
@NikSnacks
