Ellen moved to the Smiths Falls area with her husband, 25 years ago in the spring of 1998. Hearing the great academic reviews, of the rural Lombardy Public School they decided to settle in the Lombardy area to raise their family.
Wanting to be able to stay at home to raise their family, Ellen left her employment in the “big city”. Opting for the more chaotic life of raising two children, as opposed to the “9-5” work schedule that she was used to.
When her oldest child set off to school, Ellen found that she had more time on her hands during the day and a toddler that needed some friends, so she decided to help other families raise their children by opening a home daycare.
Throughout the years the Laforest family welcomed many children into their family home and came to love each smiling face as if they were their own. Many families in the Smiths Falls and Lombardy area have become an adopted extension of their family.
Ellen lives by the quote “everything happens for a reason”, so when her youngest child decided to venture out on his own, she decided it was time to say goodbye to her child caregiving years and re-enter the outside workforce.
Knowing that she needed to upgrade her digital technology skills, she reached out to Ontrac a local employment service organization for assistance which brought her to the Adult Learning & Training Centre.
During the months following the start of Ellen’s training with ALTC, her instructor came to realize that Ellen’s work ethic, wacky sense of humour, and common sense approach to learning and people would make her a great fit for the team.
So going back to the quote “Everything happens for a reason”. It truly does! Ellen would never have met our great team if she hadn’t decided to change her career path. ALTC welcomed Ellen into their family in the fall of 2022 as Tracey and Andreas’s Assistant/Program Assistant. Ellen brings with her many years of caring and nurturing as well as a different approach to how people understand and learn new things. Always willing to learn and improve her knowledge of things, Ellen is always here to offer her assistance to staff and learners.