A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Anthony Duron-Rainwater
- By: Claire Kenney
- Last Updated: June 17, 2026
Anthony Duron-Rainwater is a passionate counselor at Portage High School (PHS) with a devotion to seeing his students succeed.
“I like counseling because I get to interact with the kids,” said Duron. “Whether it’s about social and emotional issues or it’s about academics, college, or careers, that’s where my heart is.”
He himself is a Portage High School graduate and attended Portage Township Schools beginning in kindergarten. Now, he even lives in the Portage neighborhood he originally grew up in.
“One of my goals was to come back to Portage – I wanted to give back to the community,” said Duron. “I had so many great teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, so coming to PHS has been personal for me. I graduated from there. I feel like I’m giving back to my community by working at the high school.”
Recently, Duron completed a second master’s degree at Butler University. He completed his first master’s degree at Indiana University Northwest and earned his undergraduate degree from Purdue University.
“The first master’s I got was in mild interventions, so that allowed me to basically to specialize in special education from kindergarten through 12th grade,” said Duron. “My second master’s was strictly in school counseling, where I was learning counseling theories, counseling techniques, etc. Both of them are master’s, but they’re in different specialties.”
Prior to counseling at PHS, Duron worked with special education students in another district but still lived in the Portage community. He’s had the opportunity to watch the city develop.
“Portage has grown,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of new businesses in and people do tend to come back.”
Most of Duron’s family still live in Portage. They are a very tight knit family that spends time together as often as they can.
“I’m close with my siblings and we love to get together,” said Duron. “Whether it’s just to grab dinner or watch movies, we always have fun.”
Duron loves Star Wars, photography, and his cats.
“I haven’t had much time for hobbies over the last four years while earning my second master’s degree, but I’m looking forward to having more time now!” he said.
Duron lives about 10 minutes from the Indiana Dunes National Park and takes advantage of the hiking opportunities there. He also loves the beach and lakefront at the Dunes.
“Portage has always felt like home to me,” Duron said. “I grew up here and obviously wanted to stay. I probably could have moved to Chicago or other places, but I like the community that we have here.”
In addition to its beautiful landscape, the opportunities for recreation, and having his family nearby, Duron continues to feel called to Portage because of how supportive he has found the community to be.
“It is a pretty tight-knit community,” he said. “People come together when there’s bad things that go on and when there’s good things to go on. So, it’s just always been my home.”
Duron’s passion for Portage is lifelong. For him to live and work in the community is more than fitting.