LAKELAND - From Oct. 21-23, Portage College hosted a series of annual fall open houses at its three campus locations across the Lakeland region.
The first of these open houses got underway on Monday, Oct. 21 at the Portage College Lac La Biche campus. Throughout the evening, community members and prospective students who attended the event had the opportunity to speak with instructors and learn about a variety of programs ranging from Environmentalist Technology to hairstyling as well as trades programs offered by the post-secondary institution.
The open house was also a chance for those who are interested in attending Portage College to fill out applications. During the open houses, which are held in the autumn as well as spring, application fees are waived for those who apply in-person. People could also enjoy a free BBQ and win door prizes.
Several instructors representing programs at the college were on hand to chat with potential students and provide them with details about the respective programs they teach, including Al Bertschi and Lindsay Moore.
Al Bertschi, an instructor in the Environmental Technologist program, said the events are designed as a social experience to showcase the programs that are available at Portage College.
“It allows the community to come into the college and see what we do offer,” Bertschi told Lakeland This Week.
Bertschi, who had a table set up inside of the Portage College gymnasium along with other faculty, continued by saying that Portage College has grown considerably in recent years, and added that many of the school’s programs and courses are new.
Some of the most common questions asked by people who stop by to inquire about the Environmental Technologist program, Bertschi explained, relate to the variety of careers that are available upon graduation.
“So, a program like this one, you can be a fish and wildfire officer, you can work for forestry, you can work in oil and gas as a reclamation person…environmental scientist,” he said, adding that the program is also transferrable, which means those who graduate can the go on to earn their degree at a university.
When asked how the open houses are effective in getting more people interested in the programs offered by Portage College, Moore, an instructor in the Early Learning and Childcare Educational Assistant program, stated that the open houses bring the community together.
Those who attend the events, she explained, bring their families and enjoy a BBQ while getting to know a bit more about the college.
Furthermore, she added, student advisors are on hand to answer questions.
“It’s a really positive experience I find for the community…you get a lot of people out and interested, and just letting them know kind of what we’re all about,” Moore said.