“I am incredibly thankful and crying right now.”
Back in December, years after tireless studying, prep work, and saving for college, Alondra Carmona, found out that she’d been accepted by Barnard College in New York – her dream school. The elation, however, was short lived, for in February Carmona’s mother revealed to her that she owed $2,000 in rent. Without a second thought, Alondra gave up her college funds so that her mother could make her payments. It was a story oddly framed by local media outlets, which though rightly praising Alondra for her act of pure selflessness, lost sight of the fact that Alondra wouldn’t be able to attend the college of her dreams. However, through the generous donations of thousands of people, Carmona will be going to Barnard, after all. [Featured image: @ryan_gao95]
“She said she hasn’t had a job for three months,” Carmona told KHOU after learning about her mother’s situation. “When she told me that, I wanted to cry. I knew I had to accept that I couldn’t go to Barnard.”
Carmona spent years working at Chipotle and interning at Rice University with the intention of saving for college.
Carmona’s mother, Martha, had lost her job at the Port of Houston after breaking her ankle, and was behind $2,000 in rent.
“I knew I wanted to help her,” Alondra told KHOU. “I really didn’t think twice about it. I told her ‘I’m going to give you my savings and make a GoFundMe page to see if I can get enough to replace the money in my savings.'”
Media outlets picked up her story, praising the teen for her sacrifice. Meanwhile, her GoFundMe account exploded. Since the page was created less than a week ago, over four thousand people donated totaling to an amount, at this time, of $143,537.
“I am incredibly thankful and crying right now,” Carmona wrote a few days after fundraising. “I can’t even describe how grateful I am. I have no words.”
Carmona plans to study under STEM and research and pursue an M.D./PhD. Local businessman, Darren Randle, has offered to pay for the teen’s graduation party.