by Claudia Martinez
From an early age, Tre Dudley, a La Casa resident, knew he wanted to be in the healthcare industry. He discovered this passion while getting his Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate (CNA) in high school. Tre was also inspired by his older sister, who started off as a CNA and went back to school to become a registered nurse.
During his senior year in high school, Tre had his heart set on going to Southern Illinois University. Unfortunately, he did not receive enough financial aid and ended up attending Joliet Junior College. After being there for a couple of years, Tre was scouted by the Robert Morris University cheerleading coach and was offered a cheerleading scholarship.
“This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Tre says. He began majoring in Robert Morris’ surgical technology program.
What he didn’t anticipate was not being able to afford living on campus. Instead, he had to wake up at 4 a.m. and get himself ready to catch a Metra train into the city. “This was the only way to make it to my 8 a.m. class,” he says.
On many occasions, he found himself staying with friends at the University Center in downtown Chicago. The commute was starting to take a toll on him and becoming stressful. As time passed, he knew he needed to find an alternative. Then, during one of his cross-country meet-ups, a friend told him about his experience living at La Casa in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Tre decided to reach out to the La Casa staff to learn more. He applied and not only got accepted but received a scholarship to live at La Casa. “I would recommend La Casa,” Tre says. “Especially to full-time students struggling to pay for housing,”
Since moving to La Casa, Tre has become more actively involved with the Robert Morris Eagle Scholars, which help incoming freshmen transition into the school. He also works with students as a tutor in the surgical technology clinical lab.
Currently, Tre is also going through his clinical rotations at Rush Hospital. He is expected to graduate in the fall of 2015 and plans to work as a surgical technologist. He also plans to go back to school to get a masters in secondary education. Tre’s drive, passion, and focus will make him successful in all his endeavors.
For more information on La Casa Student Housing visit www.lacasastudethousing.org.

Return to Nueva Vida January 2015 here.