At 10 years old, LaRashia Simone has more on her plate than most adults.

She's a runway model, actress, student and aspiring chef. In addition, to being featured in nationally in Ebony Magazine, she also attends public school in Dayton, and is actively working with her foundation, "The LaRashia Simone Children's Foundation" to empower youth in the community. With mom (and publicist), Culpatrice Foster, right behind her, she inspires women of all ages.

LaRashia started cooking at just three years old. "Her father and I wanted LaRashia to be able to turn negative energy into positive energy, so we introduced her to cooking [as an outlet], and it just sprung from there," says Foster.

After cooking for fun for a few years, LaRashia and her mother came across the Great Young Chef contest in 2007. After posting her video online, she ended up winning runner-up in the contest. Since then, LaRashia launched her own Web site and is currently cooking for two celebrities. But, she says, her success doesn't stop there.

Because she watches cooking shows from morning to night, LaRashia has come up with many ideas not only for her cooking but also for her visions of her career in the future.

LaRashia has one mission: To teach children the importance of healthy eating. Because she cooks with and eats all natural ingredients, she hopes to use her own experience to influence other children that eating healthy doesn't have to taste "gross." "I used to never eat fruit and I didn't like veggies, but when I learned to try them, I liked them more," LaRashia said.

To help accomplish her mission, she wants to have her own children's cooking show. The concept of the show will be her going to fast food restaurants and ordering food that is delicious and healthy, showing children how to order for themselves.

Along with that, LaRashia hopes to one day become a food critic. She wants to persuade chefs to change their menus to benefit children to have a healthier diet. "Kids don't have the knowledge to say, 'Mom, I want this because it's healthier.'"

This summer LaRashia will continue to focus on new cooking projects and working with professionals. She is in the process of designing her own apron line, with the help of a professor at the University of Cincinnati, that will promote diversity. She even has an idea for an apron that she can wear to school, because she has to wear uniforms.

Now with all of these goals set for herself, you would think that this girl has no time to enjoy being a child, but she does. Although she loves to cook, LaRashia has one hobby she enjoys to do above all else: basketball.

Standing at 5 foot 8 inches already, height is in her genes, with many basketball players in her family. She says she'll soon put her height to good use at WNBA camps this summer to help sharpen her skills.

LaRashia also has a strong love for the city of Cincinnati. It took her a while to finally decide on her favorite part about this city, but her favorite place is the Duke Energy Children's Museum at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. If this girl doesn't already have you wrapped around her finger, she also said she loves "the hospitals because some people have diseases like cancer, and they help the children and people that are unhealthy and overweight; they are trying to encourage them to live healthier lives."

More articles by this author

Acclaimed Designer a Rising Star in Cincinnati

Acclaimed Designer a Rising Star in Cincinnati Nashville resident Melissa Tabor...

Read More >>

The Container Store: College Night

The Container Store: College Night Looking for ways to organize a...

Read More >>