HOUSTON – When a local mom lost her job, her 18-year-old daughter decided to drain her savings to keep a roof over their heads.
Alondra Carmona sacrificed her dream of going to college to save her family.
Carmona’s mom, a single parent, became unemployed at the beginning of the pandemic after she broke her ankle.
To support her family, Carmona, a student at YES Prep East End Secondary, took out her college savings and helped pay their rent so they wouldn’t be evicted.
She planned to use that money to go to her dream school -- Barnard College.
“It made me really sad,” Carmona said. “I had been talking to the financial aid advisor at Barnard, and I started crying because he said they couldn’t cover anything else. I told him I was really thankful and I love Barnard but it just made me so sad, ‘cause I worked so hard to get here and I got in, but I still couldn’t go.”
So far, Carmona’s GoFundMe has surpassed her goal of $75,000. She has raised more than $112,000.
If you would like to help by contributing to Carmona’s school expenses, go to her GoFundMe page.