fulfilling our - Alumni - DePaul University

10
Derrick Winding, a student in the
Chronic Illness Initiative, beams with
DePaul pride outside the DePaul Center.
School FOR
NEW LEARNING
Chronic illness no longer an obstacle
to education
During his eight-and-a-half-year career
in the Marine Corps, Derrick Winding had
no trouble adapting to the ever-changing
demands of military life. But after being
wounded in Bosnia in 2001, he found
adapting to college life more of a challenge
than he had bargained for.
He was still recovering from his wounds
in 2006 when he enrolled at DePaul.
Participating in class and completing
assignments, however, proved nearly
impossible until he sought the support
of the Chronic Illness Initiative (CII)
in DePaul’s School of New Learning.
Thanks to CII and the help of a tape
recorder and transcriber, Winding is now
completing his pre-law degree. What’s
more, he has become a tireless advocate
of CII, traveling around Chicago to talk to
Iraq and Vietnam War veterans about the
opportunities available to them through
the program. “You know that DePaul is
here for you,” he says. “Not only to help you
get your degree but to help you earn it.”
Started in 2003 by Lynn Royster, who
directs the program, CII provides access
to higher education for students disabled
by a chronic illness. The program is rapidly
growing, currently enrolling approximately
190 students who suffer from a variety
of illnesses, including chronic fatigue
syndrome, epilepsy, heart disease, multiple
sclerosis and AIDS.
“What they have is an unpredictable life
with symptoms that can change from
day to day or even hour to hour,” Royster
says. “With that, it is very hard to go
through a traditional college program.”
Students enrolled in the program have no
minimum course load requirements and
no limit on the length of time required
to complete a degree. Online classes
supplement or even replace traditional
classroom settings, allowing students to
earn a degree from their home or even
from their bed. Besides providing practical
and academic help, the program institutes
university policies and advocates for its
students.
Ashley Frigerio’s experience is typical of
many students with chronic illnesses.
Changes in the medication used to treat
her depression and fibromyalgia left her
unable to complete requirements during
a traditional quarter. CII stepped in and
dealt with everyone from financial aid to
registration, resulting in her being able to
retake her classes. A “straight-A” student,
Frigerio had tried to complete her degree
several times without success. “If it hadn’t
been for the CII I would have had to drop
out again,” she says. “They gave me time
to take care of myself.”
“We are the only program like this in the
country, so there isn’t anywhere else for
these students to succeed,” says Royster.
CII has received recognition from several
national associations, including The National
Alliance on Mental Illness, The Lupus
Foundation, The National MS Society and
The Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction
Syndrome Association of America.
CII’s work comes at a critical time. “This is
a developing tsunami,” says Royster. “The
childhood chronic illness rate is increasing
at a very high rate and most colleges and
universities are going to be flooded with
this need.”