“Portage College was one of the best experiences of my life even though I thought I was too old to go back to school.”

Trevor Letondre was in his forties when he was accepted into the Community Social Work program at Portage College. He had spent 30 years working in the oil patch and as a truck driver, but in the back of his mind he had another calling – he wanted to help people.

Trevor enrolled in the two year Community Social Work Diploma Program at the Cold Lake Campus. He admits he faced some challenges, “I had never written a paper in my life and two of my classmates were the same age as my son.”

During the first year he was very involved becoming Vice President of the Students’ Association of Portage College, Cold Lake Campus. It became much different in his second year with the workload. “I thought about quitting, but because of the sacrifices that my kids had to make with not seeing me, I decided to keep going. I couldn’t have done it without the instructors Lyla Allan, Tracy Orr and Janet Auger - they helped me stay focused. I have been told that I can be intimidating and I had a real fear of scaring people rather than helping them. The instructors kept it real for me and accepted me for who I was and treated me like everybody else.”

Trevor graduated from Portage College in 2017 and is now a Youth Family Counsellor in central Alberta who works with at-risk youth as well as families, helping them re-unite. “I can relate with most of my clients. I tell them what you see is what you get, and that I will do my best to help. I am proud that I have accomplished every goal I set out to do in my life.”

Media Inquiries:
Jaime Davies, Corporate Communications Manager 
780-623-5581 or email