Castillo, a graphic design major, is trying her best to stay on track. She’s refinanced her student loans, received help from her school’s COVID-19 relief fund and taken on extra jobs to put toward her tuition.
Her mom, who works at a Little Caesars, and her father, a construction worker on medical leave prior to the pandemic, don’t make enough to cover the cost but have always encouraged her to pursue higher education, though they didn’t go to college.
But between picking up shifts as a hostess at a University Village restaurant and trying to complete her coursework, Castillo is often exhausted. She’s still more than $2,000 behind on school payments and can’t register for spring classes until she puts forward more money, she said.
At the same time, her shifts at the restaurant have dried up as business slows due to the pandemic and the ban on indoor dining. Castillo used to work up to five days a week at Bar Louie but is now lucky if she gets scheduled for one.
“It’s a lot on my plate,” said Castillo, who went to George Westinghouse College Prep in East Garfield Park, part of Chicago Public Schools. “I feel like either my work suffers or my school suffers, and it’s so hard.
“For a while I was juggling two jobs on top of school, and I felt like I was drowning. No sleep. Constantly on energy drinks and coffee just to get by. And it was so unsatisfying because I would do my best at everything and get half done.”
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