Life in the Spotlight

Shane Prance has come full circle. He coaches baseball at his alma mater, Portage High School, and just finished his first year of teaching Physical Education and Health. Prance was born in Chicago and moved to Portage where he played four years on...

Bailey Leonard, a student at Willowcreek Middle School, has liked to listen and sing along with music since she was little. Leonard auditioned for and was selected to sing as an alto as a part of the Middle School Honors Junior Choir. As a part of...

Involved would be an adjective best fitting for Portage High School Senior Melody Martinez. Outside of finishing high school, Martinez has been busy being involved with her school sports and the Portage YMCA, an involvement that was inspired by her...

Teaching preschool is a daunting task for anyone, especially when teaching students with special needs. Robin Nelson is one of the people that participate in that line of work and has been doing it for 38 years. Nelson got involved in special...

Teaching runs in Gayle Frank’s family. Her mother was a third-grade teacher, and her older brother also teaches. Frank is in her 43rd year of teaching special education after growing up in Highland teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School....

After working as a truck driver for Amazon in Elmwood, Illinois, Jess Drwal decided to come back to the Region to be close to her family in Portage and Hobart. This led to her current job as a truck driver for Holland Special Delivery in Munster...

It was 2019 when Rosemary Martinez opened Power Nutrition, a nutrition club in Portage. The mother of three wanted a career that would allow her to spend more time with her kids. That led her to owning Power Nutrition and additionally Ultimate...

Working different jobs in multiple areas can be a hard feat, but Laryssa Vaclavik miraculously does it every day. Not only is she working towards her teaching license, but she is also a substitute teacher, a lifeguard, and an assistant coach for the...

Being selected to participate in the American Choir Directors Association (ACDA)’s National Conference is a tremendous honor for any young musician. Less than 10 students are selected each year to participate from each state. For the Barnes family,...

As a member of the Portage community and the Finance and Information Specialists for the Food Service Department for Portage schools, Amanda Palmer is a vital piece of a huge puzzle making Portage the great community that it is. Palmer does a variety...