From Boardrooms to Baking: Triton Alumna Finds a New Career in Baking

RIVER GROVE, Ill. —For most of her career, Petrina Collins worked in the world of corporate finance, eventually serving as vice president and treasurer of Navistar’s finance company.

And after a decades-long tenure in the industry, she retired in July 2023.

Rather than settle into a quiet retirement, Collins, now 68, returned to Triton College—nearly five decades after first attending the College—to pursue a lifelong passion for baking and pastry. What began as a way to transform her hobbyist knowledge into professional skill has since come full circle: Collins is now an instructor in Triton’s Hospitality Industry Administration program, helping a new generation of students discover the same passion that brought her back to the classroom.

Going from a finance executive handling multimillion-dollar debt placements to now teaching baking and pastry in her late 60s, Collins believes that community colleges can be engines of opportunity across a whole lifetime—not just a first step. After building a successful career, Collins felt it important that she give that same opportunity to a new generation of learners at Triton.

Education doesn’t have an expiration date. I think community colleges give people the opportunity to reinvent themselves, whether they’re 18 or 68. You can have one career and still discover something else that you’re passionate about. Triton gave me that opportunity twice in my life, and now I have the opportunity to give that back to someone else.

Even after leading a long and successful career, Collins knew she had no intention of settling down after retiring. Just months after setting down her briefcase, she picked up her backpack and returned to school at Triton in fall 2023 to earn a certificate in baking. But it wouldn’t be the first time that Collins, a lifetime Melrose Park resident, could call herself a Trojan. She first attended the College in the 70s and graduated with an associate degree before transferring to Dominican University to earn bachelor’s degrees in accounting and French, while minoring in fashion design.

“Triton was a great stepping stone,” she said. “I got my requirements out of the way. It was an opportunity for me to then make the next move. And then I was able to come back when it was important to me to find another career.”

Baking was a lifelong passion for Collins, and in the final years of her finance career she began developing her own cookie business. Although she had taught herself baking through decades of experience in her own kitchen at home and via online tutorials, Collins wanted formal training.

She quickly enrolled at Triton, taking culinary prerequisites before progressing through baking and pastry, specialty baking, artisan bread and chocolate courses.

“I kind of put what I knew on the back burner so that I could just open my mind to learning from real professionals,” she said.

Despite being older than many of her classroom peers, Collins said she never felt out of place, and her maturity and lived experience made her a natural mentor in the classroom.

Nearly two years after Collins’ return to school, HIA Faculty Chair Chef Christopher Clem asked her to consider teaching, and she’s now beginning her third semester at the front of the classroom.

Collins also plans to expand her business, The Cookie Kit and Caboodle, beyond decorated cookies to include baking tutorials, blog posts, recipes and videos, with the goal of teaching others about baking in the same way she learned before receiving formal training.

Learn more about the Triton College Hospitality Industry Administration program and explore opportunities to turn your passion for the culinary arts into a career at triton.edu.

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Media Contacts:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper | melissacooper@triton.edu | 708-456-0300, Ext. 3496
Hunter Oberst | hunteroberst@triton.edu | 708-456-0300, Ext. 3820

ABOUT TRITON COLLEGE:
Triton College, located at 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove, is a public institution of higher education dedicated to student success. Recently recognized by the Aspen Institute as one of the Top 200 community colleges in the nation, Triton offers more than 130 degree and certificate programs that prepare students to pursue meaningful careers, transfer to four-year universities, and thrive in a global economy. Guided by our mission—Valuing the individual, educating and serving the community—Triton serves nearly 17,000 students annually on its 110-acre campus in River Grove, Illinois. Our dedicated faculty and staff provide high-quality, accessible and affordable educational opportunities that empower students and strengthens the communities we serve. Triton College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of The Illinois Community College Board. Illinois is home to 45 colleges in 39 community college districts. Learn more at triton.edu.