DePaul senior Amber Duncan said she doesn’t think she would be on the track to graduating if she didn’t have the support of the Dax Program. In fact, Duncan is finishing up her last few credits remotely, and has moved on from the Dax Program this school year. She pays rent on an apartment with the money she was able to save in the last year, when she was a Midway House resident.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duncan had to move to Texas. When the school year started up again, she knew she needed to be in Chicago to attend DePaul and finish her degree. After conversations with the Dean of Students office, she was directed to Dax. She said the move to the Midway Dax House felt “like a natural move.” Besides housing, she said the program directed her to other resources throughout the city, like help purchasing a laptop.
After graduation from DePaul, Amber plans to enroll in nursing school, she dreams of being a nurse in emergency health or geriatrics. She imagines herself as a nurse in California, where she finds things to be more accessible. For now, Duncan has a full time job and is grateful for the opportunity Dax Chicago provided her in the last year.
While Duncan continues to see the effects of the Dax Program in her life, she said she has realized that “you are not just alone,” in your educational journey.
“It was a huge step to really be an adult,” she adds.