The ding of an oven tells Kymeer Wilkerson that the coffee cake is finally ready. His favorite recipe, delicious and yet so simple. Only the finishing touches were left, and then he’d leave it to sit for thirty minutes. The smell of brown sugar fills the air, a smell he hadn’t realized he would come to love so much.
From being a shy, closed off as a Freshman to starring in Mr Norristown Senior year, Wilkerson’s journey has not been linear. It took a lot of work to leave his comfort zone.
“I was just so tired of just sitting on the sidelines and people not getting to know who I really am inside,” he said.
Sophomore year is when Wilkerson realized holding back might be just as worse than embarrassing himself in front of people.
“I just never really spoke to people. It’s a shock I’m speaking to you guys right now. I’ve grown so much out of my comfort zone to where I’m doing Mr. Norristown. So, it’s a big accomplishment,” Wilkerson said.
A student interested in his forensics class in the mornings, Wilkerson spends the second half of his school day immersed in Baking and Pastry Arts at Central Montco Technical High School.
For Wilkerson, baking isn’t just a hobby. It is a passion; one that he hasn’t held forever, but will stick with him throughout his life beyond the walls of Montco Tech School.
“I would love to one day own my own bakery in the future. Like, just share the recipes and all that to people and make them happy with the food I make,” Wilkerson said.
He considers “the vibe” of the food industry to be a pull-factor for him. The type of pull that motivates him to push forward. He enjoys the feeling of being surrounded by others that share the same interest as him and, despite being one of the few guys within the Baking and Pastry Arts program, he still finds it easy to connect with others.
“Having other people with the same passion that you have brings stronger relationships,” Wilkerson said.
Going to the tech school for baking wasn’t some calling that he had felt since he was younger but the result of a decision most find themselves making when they don’t know what else to do: going where their friends go. In this case, it was going to tech.
“I was looking on their website, and I saw the uniform and the students making the [sweets]. I even saw them on the news once. So, seeing what they were doing and stuff, it was like ‘oh my gosh, this is something I could really do,’” Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson had originally picked Culinary as his first choice, mostly due to his friends also taking it, with baking as a backup. In a twist of fate, the culinary program was filled, and he was placed into their Baking and Pastry Arts program.
His early-childhood interest in the food industry had dwindled as he grew up, but the tech school reignited his spark. Before attending the program, Wilkerson hadn’t baked as much at home. In his own words, his first couple dishes at tech were “not good at all”.
“As I progressed and had the right mentoring, I excelled in some of the things I didn’t know about baking. So, it really changed [baking] for me,” he said.
His refinement in baking was clear to others, and he was voted to be president of the Baking and Pastry Arts program within the beginning of his senior year.
Through out high school, Wilkerson learned to improve not only his skill within the kitchen but also his emotional intelligence. Growing up surrounded by mostly women, he wasn’t shown much of their weaknesses due to the belief that he simply would not understand. So, he went about his life mirroring their attitude towards showing imperfections.
“As time went on, growing up, it was just like, okay this is probably how [his family] lived out their lives,” Wilkerson said.
There was no professional, step-by-step tutorial on gaining emotional maturity. He simply just started speaking up more.
After his four years at Norristown Area High School, what Wilkerson is most proud of are not the titles he holds or the dishes he’s baked but expanding his interests and vulnerability.
“I’ve had trouble doing that growing up,” he said. “I’d say that would be my biggest accomplishment during the years I’ve been here.”
