The following feature appeared in the October 24, 2025, Volume 9, Issue 4 edition of the SCoop, Siena University's semi-monthly e-newsletter for the Siena community
When
Addison VonLoeser '29 was younger, her parents made it clear that she would be responsible for paying her own way through college. So she is, debt free, one scoop at a time.
At the end of September, the women's soccer team played a conference road game against Fairfield University. The team bused to Connecticut the day before the match and Addison, a freshman goalie, incorrectly assumed they would be spending the night in Fairfield. Instead, the bus pulled into a hotel parking lot in Wilton, about a 25-minute ride from Fairfield. Addison is from Wilton, and as soon as she realized they were just minutes from her house, she texted her dad. "Do you want me to bring it over?" he asked. "Sure!"
In 2021, Addison's mom, Fabiana, came across an ad on Facebook Marketplace. The College Creamery, a popular ice cream truck in Wilton, was for sale. Half-joking (but half-not), Fabiana asked her three teenage daughters if they'd be interested in buying an ice cream truck.
"I don't think she was expecting us to say 'yes,' but we did!"
The truck was converted into a mobile ice cream shop two families ago. The original owners had the idea of starting a business to help put their kids through college, but the kids would have ownership in the business. They called it the College Creamery. When the first owners graduated, the family sold the truck with an expectation that the buyers would be high school students with the intention of funding their college education. Family #2 lived up to the legacy, and then passed the College Creamery on to the VonLoeser sisters.
Addison and her older sister, Reagan, a junior goalie on the Southern Connecticut State soccer team, were the original owners. Samantha, who was 12 when they acquired the truck, bought into the business last summer.
"It's a lot of work. My mom helps with all of the scheduling, but me and my sisters have to balance school and sports, and keep up with the inventory, and then work the events. It helps splitting it between three sisters."
The sisters earn a percentage of each sale, and they get paid out at the end of every summer. So far, ice cream sales have covered the balance of their college tuition (what was left after aid and athletics). In fact, there's been a surplus the past couple of years as well. But that money is earmarked for charity.
"We hold charity events a few times each summer. My sisters and I pick specific charities that are meaningful to us, like Katie Saves – a non-profit promoting mental health for student athletes on college campuses."
They try not to eat, literally, too much of their profits (when Addison gives into the temptation, it's usually black raspberry chip), but they are famous among their friends for handing out free ice cream. And then there was the time Addison's dad rolled up into the team's hotel parking lot.
"I texted coach, and he said it was fine if my dad came over with the truck. So everyone on the team came down out of their rooms and we hung out in the parking lot for about a half hour eating ice cream!"
As a business owner, Addison has already gotten quite the education in business, but the health science major is pursuing physical therapy. She might like to work as an athletic trainer for a team someday, and of course that's going to require a second degree. A master's in physical therapy can be expensive; fortunately, Addison has a plan. The VonLoeser sisters can hang on to the truck a little longer if they need to, before selling their business to the next family.
