Alda’s Dream Is Finally Within Reach, Thanks to You

Alda Marcondes, ’24 Heart of the City Foundation scholarship recipient, says, “I feel very blessed. Very, very blessed. Getting this scholarship made my day. I told everyone and their mother, ‘I got it, I got it, I got it! Can you believe I got a scholarship?’ I waited a very long time to go to school, so I’m like a kid—I’m so excited.” (In the photo, left to right: Alda; her son, Timothy; & her son, Lukas)

Alda always dreamed of becoming a nurse. But for a long time, she wasn’t confident she could pass all the required exams, and the longer she waited, the less possible it felt. Besides, she was plenty busy raising her two sons, and the bewildering cost of going back to school felt intimidating, even insurmountable. Now with her sons’ encouragement and support, as well as with a scholarship made possible by people like you, she is on her way to becoming a nurse at South College!

One evening two years ago, after Alda’s youngest son, Lukas—a senior at Winter Park High School—came home from school, he peeked over her shoulder at her computer screen. Browser tab after browser tab showed different nursing programs.

Enthusiastic, Lukas demanded, “Mom, why don’t you do this?” She responded, “Oh, I could never pass the math part. Plus it would be four years. I’m too old for that.”

Alda Marcondes’s Parents and Siblings (Left to right: her mother, Rose; her sister, Rosemary; herself; her father, Alvacir; & her brother, Al)

Alda was born in Brazil, and her parents immigrated to the United States as missionaries when she was about three years old. As a pastor, her father came to care for the congregation of a Portuguese church in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 

She grew up in Massachusetts and lived there for most of her life, working while raising her sons and putting her oldest, Timothy, through college at West Virginia University. After Timothy graduated, he encouraged her, “Hey, Mom, time to move to Florida. This is your dream. Now go.”

Four years ago, Alda took the leap and moved to Florida with Lukas. And she got a full time job as a receptionist with our church, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando.

However, for many including Alda, the cost of living in Florida teeters on swallowing more than one can reasonably earn. So the years since she moved to Florida haven’t been without their major bumps, including a short spell of homelessness, remedied by our church family through the Heart of the City Foundation. 

All of this led to her researching nursing programs one evening. And once Lukas knew of her interest, he became her ultimate cheerleader. He wouldn’t give up on the idea. He told her, “Mom, you already put Tim through school. You have to think of yourself.”

Alda with her youngest son, Lukas, who couldn’t be more proud of his mom.

When Alda replied, “I know science, I love science, but I’m not good at math,” he insisted, “I’ll help you.” She said, “You’re in high school.” Unperturbed, he countered, “Yeah, but I’m great at math.” 

With her sons’ belief in her, Alda applied to a two-year accelerated nursing program at South College and was accepted! When the Nursing fees on top of her tuition became daunting, she was absolutely delighted to receive a scholarship from the Heart of the City Foundation, thanks to people like you, covering what she alone could not.

Now Alda is finally fulfilling her lifelong dream of studying to become a nurse.

“I hope that I can be the type of nurse who will make an impact in people’s lives,” she explains, “I would love to work in either maternity or cardiac because both my parents had heart attacks not too long before I moved here. I saw how important the role of a nurse is. If somebody is hurting or dying, you want to be there, hold their hand, and also be able to pray with them. Show them there is hope, there is healing. I want to be that person.”

Alda with her friend, Rose, who started school alongside her!

Eventually, an algebra course did come around, and Lukas took Alda under his math whiz wing. She says, “My professor realized that math and I were not friends. But with her help and Lukas, I did get an A in algebra!” She laughs, “Lukas told me he’s going to graduate nursing school with me when I graduate.”

Thank you for empowering students like Alda, who deserve the opportunity to serve their community in the way God has called them and to better take care of their families. She says, “All I have to say is, I’m grateful to the Heart of the City Foundation because, if it wasn’t for this scholarship, I would probably have to drop out of school. Sometimes I think the donors don’t realize the impact they make on someone’s life.”