May 15, 2017
June 1 Update: Congratulations Isabel Lang for winning a free tuition prize with her terrific essay submission.
This is a wonderful way to thank J.A. Williams media class for helping us throughout the year. 
Welcome to the family Izzy! #WeAreVoyageurs
One lucky J.A. Williams (JAWS) High School graduate will get a chance to study at Portage College for free next year. The College is offering to cover a year's worth of tuition for one graduate from the Class of 2016-17 as part of a contest in order to say thanks for the JAWS Multimedia department's involvement with live streaming Voyageur hockey games and the College's annual Sports & Education Dinner. The College will select the winner on May 30, 2017.
To be eligible for the contest, students will need to submit a 500-word essay answering the question: What appeals to you about attending a college locally, here in Northeastern Alberta?
The $3,558 tuition can be applied to any Portage College campus (Lac La Biche, Boyle, Cold Lake, Frog Lake, Goodfish Lake, Saddle Lake or St. Paul). The contest deadline is May 18 and all submissions should be made to Frank Collins, Academic Counsellor at JAWS. The winner will have until June 30, 2018 to use the free tuition voucher.
"This partnership accomplishes a few things key to our school-wide improvement plan. It creates more opportunities for students to attend post-secondary institutions without financial barriers, encourages students to invest in their own community by staying local, and demonstrates to current JAWS multi-media students that their contribution to school partnerships can translate to real benefits for themselves and their fellow students," J.A. Williams High School Principal, Conal Donovan, "We are truly grateful to Portage College for continuing to find ways to connect our students to their potential next steps after graduation."
The college is grateful to those JAWS students who helped with all the Voyageur hockey games by operating cameras as well as the equipment for live streaming the games. Portage would also like to thank Bailey Herman and Damian Giacobbo, who operated the cameras at the Sports and Education Dinner and worked with the Cine Audio Visual crew to give the audience an up close and personal view of the evening's proceedings.
"We see the positive impact of having the high schools students collaborating with the college. We foresee this partnership continuing with this same outcome," says Dr. Trent Keough, President & CEO of Portage College, "Our 50th anniversary year is fast approaching and we have many events and opportunities for the students of J.A. Williams to contribute."
We acknowledge that Portage College’s service region is on the traditional lands of First Nation Peoples, the owners of Treaty 6, 8 and 10, which are also homelands to the Métis people. We honour the history and culture of all people who first lived and gathered in these lands.