The NYCHA Journal

The NYCHA Journal has informed and inspired residents since 1970, covering the news, contributions, and uplifting stories of the NYCHA community while providing the latest information on Authority initiatives.

“I want to become a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. I was a preemie myself. I was born two months early and was in the hospital for months. I’m a survivor, and I want to help take care of babies, especially babies who are premature like I was.” Dais Nunez
Education NYCHA Residents Top Story 

NYCHA Resident Offered Numerous College Scholarships

LaToya

Dais Nunez, 19, recently had to make a significant decision: which of the colleges that offered her scholarships would she attend?

Ms. Nunez, a resident of Morris Houses in the Bronx, applied to approximately 20 colleges and received over $310,000 in scholarship offers from some of them, including Barry University, Dominican College, Mercy College, Molloy College, Pace University, Samford University, and Xavier University.

“Both of my parents are beyond excited, especially because of the scholarships,” Ms. Nunez said. “I’ll be the first child of my mother’s to graduate from high school and go to college.”

Although it was a difficult decision, Ms. Nunez decided that Mercy College’s nursing program would be the best program for her career goals.

“I want to become a neonatal intensive care unit nurse,” Ms. Nunez said. “One of the main reasons I want to do that is because I was a preemie myself. I was born two months early and was in the hospital for months. I was in and out of the hospital as a baby because I had to have surgery. I’m a survivor, and I want to help take care of babies, especially babies who are premature like I was.”

Ms. Nunez is currently an A-student at Bronx Preparatory Charter High School. When she’s not at school or home with her mother, she works as a Group Leader at Directions For Our Youth (DFOY) at the Butler Community Center. She began working for DFOY through the Summer Youth Employment Program and was then hired to work part-time as a Group Leader. In this role, she tutors students from kindergarten through fifth grade and also helps middle school students with homework and prep for state exams and high school students with Regents prep.

Clyde Thompson, Program Director of DFOY, is a proud boss: “Dais Nunez can only be described as a ‘winner in progress.’ We are witnessing excellence in progress. The best is yet to come, and I am lucky and grateful to have chosen her to be part of our team at DFOY.”

Ms. Nunez is looking forward to experiencing the life of a college student while continuing to work. “I’m also looking forward to helping all those babies who are going through what I went through. I want to make my family proud and explore more about myself. I look forward to what the future holds.”