By M. English 21st Century Media News Service

To her bemusement, Kriebel became a baker par excellence. Less surprising, Pumo, Legassie and ONeill emerged as standouts in well, nursing, cosmetology and electronics.

All four will share their stories when Central Montco Technical High School inducts them into its Distinguished Alumni Association on April 30.

When Kriebel was a 17-year-old culinary arts student at Central Montco Technical High School in the late 1990s, she was admittedly shocked at her baking prowess. As she told it back then, shed enrolled at CMTHS on something of a whim. But by time she snagged first prize for baking at 1999s state-level contest for Vocational-Industrial Clubs of America members, Kriebel had impressed her CMTHS teachers in a big way especially when it came to pie.

The first one I made was apple, and it was unbelievable, she noted in one memorably droll interview following her VICA win. Everybody knew I wasnt really that interested in cooking, so we were all surprised at my skills. Mr. S. [Seth Schram] and Mr. N. [Alan Nesensohn] were both shocked and said, Whoa, this girl has talent. I was pretty shocked myself. I never thought Id get this far. I think winning States was the best thing thats ever happened to me.

As another quotable woman writer S.E. Hinton famously put it: That Was Then, This Is Now. Following her 1999 graduation from both CMTHS and Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, Kriebel earned a degree in baking and pastry arts at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. The Plymouth native went on to a variety of related experiences but eventually found my passion as a cake designer and is currently making her mark on an equally appreciative but much wider audience via the singular cakes and pastries produced at her Kriebels Custom Bakery in Eagleville.

Kriebel credits her CMTHS teachers for the whole chain of events that led to her achievements and is now involved in student intern and externships, even doing co-op positions for the tech school.

The bakery is a huge success, and our clientele grows bigger and bigger every day, she says. Our next step will be expanding into a larger shop or a caf. Who knows what the future will bring. I realize now that my passion for my craft, my dedication and my commitment to baking all began at the tech school.

On the other hand, CMTHS classmate and fellow Distinguished Alumni inductee Pumo enrolled in the schools Allied Health program because it allowed her to begin my journey in becoming a nurse.

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a nurse, recalls the 1999 CMTHS and Norristown Area High School grad, now an emergency room staffer at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery. As a small child, I can remember walking around my childhood home with my Fisher Price first aid kit, wearing my play stethoscope, listening to everyones heart and putting [bandages] on them. At the age of 12, I began volunteering first at Sacred Heart Hospital and then at Mercy Suburban Hospital. My volunteer experiences led me to apply to the Allied Health Program Continued...

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Central Montco Technical High School to induct four into Distinguished Alumni Association