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By Tyler Fortna

With all of the stress from being in college and working, it’s often easy to forget the first thing or first person that got you into the hospitality industry. In high school, I attended Bucks County Technical High School and was enrolled in the Pastry Arts program the school offered. Recently, I decided to get back in touch with my tech teacher, Chef Kelly Laba, and have been more in touch with my “roots.”

Not only did I give back, but I also learned something while I was there visiting. When I went back to my high school, I did a bread demo and taught the tenth-grade students things about bread they didn’t know. Now, you may ask how I learned something from them. Well, you see, you can learn something from anyone. More specifically, I learned from this young group of students how to be a better leader, how to engage them in a learning manner, and also the basic framework of how to be a teacher.

Not only is it nice if you went to a technical high school, but when you go back it’s even more special when your high school comes and visits Walnut Hill College. It’s a great experience because your teachers get to see how great you’re doing and how much you have grown!

Tyler Fortna, Student Leader
Pastry Arts, Class of July 2017

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