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Would you give up your dream college savings for your loved one?
By Tomás Diniz Santos — Written on Feb 11, 2021
A high school senior gave up all of her college savings to help pay for her mom’s rent to keep her from being evicted.
The Texas teenager, Alondra Carmona, was recently offered admission to her dream school, Barnard College.
It’s a top-rated Ivy League liberal arts college for women. She currently goes to school at Yes Prep East End in Houston, Texas.
Last year, her mom lost her job after an injury made it difficult to work. This snowballed into her being late on her rent payment and eviction was looking more and more likely.
“I come from a single parent household and my mom worked everyday to pay rent. In February of 2020, my mom broke her ankle and was not able to work,” said Carmona on a GoFundMe page she created.
“Today, I found out that my mom has not had a job for 3 months and hid it from us. She owes two months of rent and will most likely get evicted in March.”
With her back to the wall, Carmona turned to GoFundMe in a last-ditch effort to make ends meet
Her hopes of attending her dream school began to disappear after she made the decision to use her college savings to help her mother with the housing fees and to support her any way she could.
“As much as I dream of going to Barnard College, it is not looking promising right now,” Carmona wrote. “I am turning to this as a last resort because Barnard will not be able to change my financial aid package.”
After almost a week of the GoFundMe page being live, she has raised over $145,000 in donations and has had over four thousand donors.
In an update to the page, Carmona has expressed her gratitude and appreciation for all the strangers who have come together to help her reach her goal.
“This is already going to help so much. I am incredibly thankful and crying right now. I can’t even describe how grateful I am. I have no words,” Carmona said.
The passionate teenager has had her eyes set for Barnard since she was 15-years-old, according to Carmona on the GoFundMe page.
She has dreamt of becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon and her motivation helped land her a 6-week research internship for cervical cancer at Rice University. Thanks to donors all across the world, her goal is now in reach.
While this story is uplifting and full of support, it shines a light on an underlying problem many face today
Carmona’s tough and selfless decision to give up her college savings to save her mom from eviction is brave and enduring; however, it shows how much we as a society have to do to fix this issue in the United States.
It is too big of a burden on any teenager to worry about having a roof over their heads and food on their tables.
No teenager should have to make a decision which means choosing their life’s dream and future over their mother’s safety and housing. No parent should have to be in a position where they have to depend on their child or from donors across the world.
As lovely as it is to read about Carmona’s story and the complete turnaround of her future, it’s hard not to think about the people out there who are in very similar situations and don’t have the luck and publicity that Carmona faced.
Many social media users felt it was more of a wake-up call than a touching story.
One Twitter user wrote, “Teens shouldn't have to deal with this. families shouldn't have to deal with being evicted. why is there even a need for this to happen?”
Carmona has had her life changed for the better. Having gone viral on social media for her story, she is now able to attend her dream college and help her mother from being evicted.
Let’s hope this moving story serves as a reminder that there are people who aren’t saved from eviction by GoFundMe and that a spotlight must be shined on the system in the U.S. that isn’t so perfect.
Tomás Diniz Santos is a writer living in Orlando, Florida. He covers news, entertainment, and pop-culture topics.