If there’s one thing many of us could agree on, it’s that college tuition is too high. We get it; it’s a luxury, but does it really have to cost an arm and a leg to get a piece of paper that we may or may not end up using? This isn’t to say it’s a “scam” (I’m a college graduate myself), but financially, it isn’t convenient for probably a majority of us.
There are various financing options for college, but of course, there’s a thing such as student debt, and it’s pretty brutal. But luckily for over 400 low- to moderate-income, first-generation California college graduates, they had their student loan debt of at least $8,000 paid off. And it’s all because of anonymous donors who generously spent $80 million to make the latter happen.
“With student loans increasingly becoming a financial burden, SRA is grateful for the opportunity to facilitate relief to our hardworking alumni who have become highly productive members of the workforce nationwide,” SRA CEO, Elizabeth Devaney, said.
One recipient of the college debt clearance program was Law student, Kimberly Armstrong. Having racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of loan debt, Armstrong was able to get a whopping $300,000 paid off thanks to donors!
“It’s a shock; it’s amazing; it’s a relief, though … Literally, it’s a weight lifted,” Armstrong said, feeling completely grateful.
Another recipient by the name of Dr. Zachary Tabb was also a lucky recipient. Tabb was able to get the $120,000 left on his college debt dues finally erased.
With their college debt fully paid off, their lives have drastically changed. Recipients are now living less stressful lives and don’t have to continue to eat ramen noodles daily to afford to pay off their debt as soon as possible.
“It’s life changing. I’ve had debt … really my entire adult life. And so it’s just something that—everywhere you go—it follows you,” Tabb said to reporters. “It’s really a generational impact. To completely un-burden myself and all of them … has a real multiplicative effect … not only on [my fellow SRA scholars’] lives, but on the contributions they can make to society.”
While I’m very lucky to not have student loan debt, it puts such a huge smile on my face when other people are able to get theirs erased, especially through a manner such as this one. Graduates must have felt like a million bucks when they were told their college debt was paid off by random donors!
Hit the ‘play’ button below to learn more about the program and how impactful it has been for many American college students.
