More than $80,000 has been raised as a college fund for a New York City high school student who lost both his parents to COVID-19 exactly a month apart

• A 17-year-old New York City high school student lost both his parents to the coronavirus within a month of each other.
• Over $80,000 has been raised on GoFundMe for Roberto Tobias' college fund.
• The student hopes to study pre-med and join the medical field.

More than $80,000 have been raised to support a New York City high school student after both his parents died from COVID-19.

After his entire family of four caught the coronavirus, Roberto Tobias, a 17-year-old student lost his father on from complications on May 30th and his mother a month later on June 30th.

Tobias said his father, Roberto Tobias Sr, caught the virus in March after he took care of an elderly neighbor who was ill.

"My father out of just complete...compassion and love, he just acted out of line towards his own ideas regarding COVID, and he just wanted to help our neighbor that he knew was sick and he just fell ill regardless," Tobias told Insider. "And I think that he was willing to take that risk and that whole event just sort of highlights who he is as a person."

The rest of his family caught the virus, and while Tobias suffered minor symptoms, his parents and sister developed more severe cases. His parents, who had preexisting conditions died from complications.

His father, 72, and his mother Loida Tobias, 61, were both diabetic and had additional underlying conditions. They would end up hospitalized later in March.

Tobias explained that his parents immigrated from the Philippines in 1990 and worked hard to get themselves out of poverty, and it's their sacrifices to provide for the family that inspired him to create large goals and work to achieve them.

"My realization of my dreams came from inspiration from my parents, learning my true passions, and the discovery of what I wanted to pursue in my life. When I enter college, I want to study pre-med and go on to medical school to pursue a career as a neurosurgeon," he wrote on his GoFundMe page.

However, despite his optimism for the future, he said the several months his parents spent ill and in the hospital were overwhelming.

Tobias said doctors let them know when his dad was about to die. Dressed in full protective gear, he was able to be by his bedside and talk to him before he died.

While his sister was in denial and wanted doctors to try CPR in hopes of reviving him, Tobias said he accepted that his father wasn't going to survive.

"I just, I really didn't want him to have to deal with, like, even if there was a very small chance of him surviving, his quality of life would have been terrible. And I was just already just ready to let him go and not let him suffer anymore," he said.

Through tears, Tobias said he promised his father that he would honor his legacy.

"I just promised him so many things that I would do my best to fulfill my dream of getting into NYU and just like trying to pursue a scholarship. I would become a doctor and I would continue to study medicine. And I would eventually just be able to take care of our family and just help them financially, just like he did," Tobias said.

While still grieving his father's death, Tobias was hopeful his mother may survive. However, a month later without any warning, his sister calls him to tell him that his mother has also died.

"I was just in shock, although I was so prepared for it coming, I just didn't, I was speechless. And I just said, okay," he said.

Tobias said he was unable to go to the hospital to see his mom.

"I just couldn't stand at that moment to just see our mom dead after I already saw my father's dead body exactly a month before," he said.

Tobias said friends and family encouraged him to start a GoFundMe to help him support himself and raise funds for college. He said he was grateful for all the support and was in shock by how quickly people began donating.

"Just a lot of things ended up just falling onto my lap. And I was just so awestruck about the amount of traction my GoFundMe managed to get in under a week. And it's just been so surreal just seeing this constant stream of support from so many people from friends, family, strangers," he said. "It's just so emotionally overwhelming for me, knowing that there's so many people out there that want to see me succeed and want to support me throughout my hard times."