Meet Lamonica Windbush: She Saw a Brighter Future Through Tutoring

Lamonica Windbush, a registered nurse, grew up wanting to be a part of the Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program. Her family, friends and Cabrini-Green community were involved in the program from early on, and she volunteered in the program when she was too young to officially participate. Once she was old enough to get her own tutor, she was thrilled.

“I was a great student. I got primarily straight A’s in grammar school,” says Lamonica. “Every year, I ended up with two tutors, which I think is because of my grades and I did need the extra push…they showed me that there was something to strive for…[those] were my positive role models.”

Lamonica was matched with tutors Stacey and Arla. They started out working together to solve challenging math problems–Stacey laughs when she remembers having to step away to figure out how to solve the problem with Arla, and then come back to teach Lamonica–and continued to stay in touch past their involvement in the tutoring program. Stacey even helped Lamonica navigate college applications, something she replicated with Lamonica’s daughter when it was her turn to go to college.

The guidance and care Stacey provided continues to have a profound impact on Lamonica’s life. “Stacey is like a second mom. I can go to her for anything and she’s always there,” says Lamonica.

Stacey, Arla and other leaders and volunteers in the Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program helped open Lamonica up to the world’s opportunities, and Lamonica ran with it. As Stacey says: “The one thing I think I was able to do was be another person who just believed in Lamonica. She did the achieving, but I did the cheerleading.”

Today, Lamonica works as a registered nurse and supports her children to thrive. “If I can say one thing to my tutors it would be thank you very much…it wasn’t just Stacey and Arla, it was so many others that gave us a confidence boost, or made sure that we knew we were special and that we could do other things than what we saw in front of us. I just want to say thank you, tremendously.”