Kathy Wakile, Real Housewives of New Jersey [RHONJ] reality star, has faced her fair share of obstacles. Wakile is a dedicated mom, sister, wife, cousin, aunt, and daughter that knows what it takes to accomplish her dreams. She is more than the technical term of a housewife or a stay-at-home mom. The hurdles she overcame have helped her grow into the woman she is today.  

Wakile resides in Wayne, New Jersey with her husband Richard Wakile, whom she has been married to for 21 years. They have two kids together, Victoria, 19, and Joseph, 17. Being a mother, Wakile is aware of how it feels to have two children in college. She always desired to have success in her life, but as a mother she can only wish for her children to become as successful or better.

Wakile is currently fulfilling her dreams with her hobby-turned-career of baking. “Sometimes I see really skinny girls. They may look great, but...they're not happy. Have a cupcake,” kidded Wakile. In pursuit of sharing her baking knowledge, Wakile has also released the dessert line known as Dolci Della Dea, which translates to Goddess Sweets, which launched a cannoli kit on QVC.

All the success inspired Wakile to continue her passion and release a dessert cookbook, Indulge: Delicious Little Desserts That Keep Life Real Sweet. Wakile always had a childhood love for snacks and used inspiration from Nutter Butters and Almond Joys to develop her mini dessert recipes. “Everything is mini because I believe when you’re having dessert, you’re happy,” smiled Wakile.

Wakile separates the recipes in her book by season. She developed all the recipes in her own kitchen. She found it difficult to remember everything she was adding to the recipes, “I used to just create and wing it, so not being used to having to document every single detail and step was very challenging for me,” explained Wakile.

On Monday, September 22, 2014, Wakile stopped by the Barnes and Noble on campus for the book signing of her new book Indulge. Wakile and her husband stopped by and welcomed students from the Kean University community. Students stood in line and waited to meet, take pictures with, and talk to both Wakile and her husband. It was a night filled with enjoyment for fans who always wished to meet Wakile.

Wakile knows the stress that college students feel because she is experiencing it first hand with her two children. She encourages all students to always “Go for it and follow your dreams.” Her motto is to look at the full journey you are taking; she explains that the journey is full experience.

This will not be the last book signing to take place on campus. Barnes and Noble plans on hosting more signings in the future. For information on future events, please visit https://www.facebook.com/KeanUniversityBookstore