(NEXSTAR) — In December, Alondra Carmona’s “dreams came true.” She was accepted to Barnard College, a private women’s liberal arts college in New York City.
Then the unthinkable happened. According to a GoFundMe page created by the Texas high school senior, she recently discovered her mother, who raised Carmona on her own, had been out of work for three months.
“Today, I found out that my mom has not had a job for 3 months and hid it from us,” Carmona wrote. “She owes two months of rent and will most likely get evicted in March.”
Last year, Carmona’s mother broke her ankle and had to stop working. Then the pandemic hit and their problems compounded.
“She works in the Port of Houston, and people work so close together, and the jobs died down [during COVID-19]. She was really worried how she was going to get back on her feet,” Carmona told “Good Morning America.”
“She’s always been a single parent and would work nights when I was little,” Carmona added. “My sisters and I would stay home alone … it was really hard, but she made sacrifices for us to have a better life…I got accepted to my dream school all because of her.”
Now, Carmona is turning to generous individuals to help send her to her dream school. She said she is donating the entirety of her current college fund, which she saved while working part-time at Chipotle to help her mother.
“As much as I dream of going to Barnard College, it is not looking promising right now,” she wrote. “I am turning to this as a last resort because Barnard will not be able to change my financial aid package.”
Carmona, who wants to become a neurosurgeon, said Barnard has been her “dream” since she was 15 years old. The college gave her a $60,000 financial aid package, according to GMA.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,000 people had donated to the GoFundMe for a total of $45,103. Tuition for Barnard costs $55,781 per year.
