I am APS is a special series highlighting students, faculty, alumni, and others in celebration of the rich and diverse experiences, backgrounds and contributions within the Atlanta Public Schools family. Together, we stand in solidarity of our shared admiration of APS and the mission which guides us.
Khalilah Womack, owner of iScream Ice Cream Rolls, Atlanta, GA. Photo: Allison M. Slocum
Walking into iScream Ice Cream Rolls is an experience that will put a smile on anyone’s face. The pink and chocolate décor tempts one’s sweet tooth immediately and the exuberant personality of its owner, Khalilah Womack, compels you to mull over the menu options.
Womack, a 2006 Frederick Douglass High School graduate, was destined to become an entrepreneur despite a few obstacles that would be considered setbacks. She was diagnosed with Dyslexia at an early age and thanks to the support and resources from her teachers, she was able to not only maintain a normal class load and overcome the learning disability, but transition into the gifted learning track.
Today, she lives a life of paying it forward and combines her experience at APS with her passion to give back by providing opportunities for students to gain work experience and learn valuable soft skills.
We stopped by Womack’s Underground Atlanta store location to find out how she got into the ice cream business, what her experience at APS taught her, and what she plans for the future of iScream Ice Cream Rolls.
iScream Ice Cream Rolls, located at the Underground Atlanta in Atlanta, GA. Photo: Allison M. Slocum
KHALILAH WOMACK
Owner of iScream Ice Cream Rolls, Douglass High School class of 2006
What made you want to become an entrepreneur and specifically a restaurateur?
I always knew I wanted to own a business. As far back as I can remember, even in elementary school, I was always selling something. And then I got on the academic path and I thought I wanted to be a do-gooder. I wanted to do political science and get my master’s in public administration and go change the world.
But [owning a business] was still in me. I wanted to go out on my own and see what I could do and take that leap of faith in myself. I knew that it would have to combine my interests, which are food and social media. [I asked myself] ‘What is a food trend, something that people will want to make content about? What is something that’s new and innovative?’ And so, that’s how I landed on rolled ice cream, which is a popular street food in Thailand. We kind of adapted it and brought it here to Atlanta.
It kept targeting me on social media. I kept seeing it on YouTube or Instagram reels. I thought it was really interesting. So, I bought a very small machine and I had it in my living room, and I would basically force feed my children ice cream and anybody else who walked into my house. I’d ask, ‘Do you like this? Is this good?’ And simultaneously, I was actually working at APS. I used to work at Woodson Elementary as a parent liaison and I would take courses after work with the Urban League. They have an entrepreneurship center. They teach you how to write your business plan, what you’ll need to get yourself ready for funding.
FUN FACT: Womack’s favorite iScream Ice Cream Roll bowl is the Lady Marmalade, made with Mocha Choco YayaYa Cappuccino ice cream infused with espresso powder and topped with a macaroon and chocolate drizzle. Photo: Allison M. Slocum
What makes you proud to be an APS alumnus?
There’s not a lot of people from Atlanta that live in Atlanta and are doing big things in Atlanta. So to be able to say I’m from Atlanta, and when asked what high school I went to, I can say Douglas High School— that’s a badge of honor for people who live in the city to be from the city. And also the connections I was able to make. You don’t think about those things when you’re in school— I’m sitting in class with a civil rights leader’s granddaughter. They are just somebody that you’ve known since third grade. But as you get older, you see how it all connects to the bigger picture. And that’s something that’s very specifically Atlanta and Atlanta Public Schools. And the legacies of our bigger schools like Douglass, Mays and Washington. So it’s really a pride aspect.
How would you describe Atlanta’s culture?
I definitely think the culture of Atlanta is based on excellency. There is a standard of what we expect of our youth and then what we expect our youth to grow up into. And then there’s the arts component to it. There’s the food component, and there’s a black entrepreneurship component, and there’s a black leadership component. As long as I’ve been alive, there’s always been a black mayor and always a black superintendent [of APS]. So it’s a representative city.
I noticed that when I got to college and I met so many people from different cities that there were limiting beliefs. But, growing up where everybody from the cafeteria cook or chef to the superintendent is black, it [was an example that] you could be a plethora of things. All of these things are important and all of these things make the system work. It’s something I feel is very specific to Atlanta.
I also went to Brown Middle School and we were in the first class— they shut it down many years ago, and then I came into the sixth grade and we were the first sixth graders. I would also go to the West End Performing Arts Center after school. This is when kids used to walk. We would walk from school to the West End Performing Arts Center. And that’s where we would learn black culture beyond what’s in the classroom. We would get into different forms of dance, photography, acting. And you carry those connections on into the rest of your life, so it’s very interconnected in a way that I think is also very specific to Atlanta.
What drives you to continue to support APS and Atlanta?
I hire APS students exclusively. I was a product of the Mayor’s Youth Program where they put us into jobs. And I’m so patient with my employees, they get a lot of soft skills here. Yes they learn how to roll ice cream, but they probably won’t have to roll ice cream at any other job that you go to. They’re also learning customer service. They’re learning how to file your taxes and I will sit there with them and talk it through. They are learning what it means to be on time for work and what it means to call out for work and not just not show up for work. It’s a learning curve because how would they know that? Most of them start working here at 14 or 15 with their worker’s permit. They have no frame of reference [other than] if you don’t go to school, you just don’t go to school that day. You tell your teachers the next day why you didn’t go to school. But it’s different at work and learning that teamwork component of [working]. What you don’t do is left for the next person to do. So what drives me to support APS is that I was given that same opportunity when I was a student.
What advice would you give current APS students?
I would say literally the most cliché things that anybody would tell them— your parents know what they’re talking about. Listen to your parents. Listen to your teachers. And more specifically, develop relationships with adults because they might seem so much older now, but they’re going to become peers sooner than they think— in the next 10 years. They’ll be like ‘I knew her since elementary school, but now she is my coworker.’ So it’s important to develop those relationships with the adults around them and if they can, reach higher for relationships. Try to make friends with the principal or try to make friends with the counselor. Develop that. Start networking now so that those people remember them when they open a restaurant. And wow, for example, now I’m getting the APS feature because somebody knew me.
Khalilah Womack, owner of iScream Ice Cream Rolls, Atlanta, GA. Photo: Allison M. Slocum
What’s next for you?
My hope is to get a truck and go mobile because we do tend to miss some opportunities. People will ask ‘Can you come to this thing or come to that thing?’ I can’t carry those machines. So going mobile is the next step. And after we go mobile, it would be to open a second brick and mortar [location].
