Meet the Veteran Liaisons

Erik Stone served four years with the United States Marine Corps as a combat engineer and was stationed at Camp Pendleton CA with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division. 

His first deployment was with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), as an attachment to 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On board the USS Cleveland LPD-7, the USS Bonhomme Richard LHD-6, and the USS Rushmore LSD-47, Erik was part of an advanced infantry unit called: vesal, board, search, and seizure or VBSS. The VBSS teams’ purpose is to capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, piracy and smuggling, and to conduct customs, safety and other inspections. Erik’s second deployment was part of Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan (OEF) as a dog handler with a route clearness platoon. 

Erik left the Marine Corps in mid-2011 and joined the DePaul community in the spring of 2017. Erik is in his senior year and is finishing an undergraduate’s degree in network engineering and security. 

After being with the DePaul community for a little over a year now, Erik wishes to help incoming and current veteran students with their questions, needs and concern. Feel free to send an email to : estone17@depaul.com ​ ​or stop by the adult student center at the loop campus. 

Heather Duke served six years on active duty in the United States Navy. She was first stationed in Sasebo,Japan as a hovercraft deck mechanic for Assault Craft Unit-5 Western Pacific Detachment as one of the first women in a previously male only unit. During her three years she deployed every year with ships like the USS Tortuga and the USS Essex. On her first deployment she was able to spend two weeks in Australia, one of her favorite countries.

After three years overseas, she came back to the United States to be stationed on the USS Gravely DDG107. As a plank owner she was promoted to Gas Turbine Mechanical Second Class Petty Officer. Now as a senior at DePaul, studying Computer Science with a concentration in Software engineering she hopes to one day use her mechanical and chemical knowledge combined with her love of programming. She looks forward to assisting veterans with the tools and information they need to succeed here at DePaul and find a fulfilling career after graduation. Snipe for Life! ​​