Corenda’s Story
Meet Corenda, a dedicated and career-driven single mother of three. Corenda was born in Gainesville, and then moved to Keystone Heights for her middle and high school years. After graduating from Bradford High School in 2009, she returned to Gainesville and has been a resident ever since. Corenda welcomed her first child in 2011 while she was pursuing cosmetology school. Challenged by the demands of motherhood, providing for her family, and completing her education, Corenda struggled to hold her head high and push forward.
After the birth of her first son, Corenda felt reassured to revisit her goals and aspirations by researching opportunities to continue her education. She was determined to establish a career for herself and her growing family. With support from her mother, Corenda maintained a roof over her head by staying with family as she worked and completed school. Corenda completed her education and received licensure in Medical Assistance and Phlebotomy. She began working at UF Health Shands Hospital as a rotating Medical Assistant, and was promoted as a Medical Assistant at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in the summer of 2023. Corenda aspires to become a Registered Nurse, but has felt rewarded by her career in medical assistance. She is proud to not possess any student loan debt, depite the demands of her education, her career, and her most important role as a dedicated mother.
The opportunity to live with her mother has been a blessing to Corenda and her children for several years. As her family and aspirations have grown, Corenda’s current home has become overcrowded for her family, her mother, and the two additional grandchildren. This exponential growth motivated Corenda to look into becoming a homeowner. After applying to the Alachua Habitat Homeownership program, Corenda was pleasantly surprised to receive the call of her approval! She was under the impression that she would need a large portion of savings to begin her homeownership journey, and was grateful to be informed of that common misconception. Since being accepted into the program, Corenda has been unable to contain her “joy, excitement, and pride,” and has shared her news with anyone who will listen. She has expressed her commitment to being diligent throughout this process in order to guarantee success for herself and her family.
When thinking towards her future, Corenda is most excited to have adequate space for her family to maintain a peaceful and organized home. Each of her children (12 y/o girl, 4 y/o boy, and 2 y/o boy) will have their own bedrooms to decorate with their passions ranging from art, sports, and music. Corenda is eager to spend Sundays in her home, playing gospel music throughout the house as she does laundry in her comfort instead of at her local laundromat. The first holiday season in their new home will be extraordinary for the Johnson family! Corenda is eager to witness her children “soak in the joy” of Christmas morning in a home of their own.
Corenda associates homeownership with ambition, determination, and self-discipline. Her journey so far serves as a testament to her possession of those attributes. Corenda will be surrounded by love and support throughout her homeownership journey from the Alachua Habitat staff, volunteers, her loved ones, and staff from the sponsor of her home, Bryan Builders.
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