University Forgives Student Debt and Fines For Class of 2020 and 2021
It is no secret that going to university in the United States is an extreme luxury, with the various costs associated with attendance quickly adding up to be more than most can afford. Nonetheless, students take out thousands in loans to fulfill their dream of achieving an upper-level degree.
Though graduation marks an exciting beginning for university students, it is also the beginning of a prolonged period of stress as students with loans slowly begin to pay off their debt. One university took it upon themselves to offer a helping hand to the 2020 and 2021 graduates, who have continued to succeed even in the most trying of times.
Wilberforce University, America’s oldest private historically black university, surprised its graduates with the ultimate graduation gift: complete student loan cancellation. The president of the university, Dr. Elfred Anthony Pinkard, announced at the end of his commencement speech that the school will cancel any and all student load debt and fines owed from the classes of both 2020 and 2021.
“As these graduates begin their lives as responsible adults, we are honored to be able to give them a fresh start by relieving their student debt to the university,” Pinkard said to Forbes. The loan relief comes to approximately $375,000, provided with financial support from the United Negro College Fund, Jack and Jill Inc, as well as emergency financial act through the Cares Act, the $2.2. trillion stimulus package that Congress passed last year.
As we all look to navigate our new world – one that seems oddly familiar and foreign at the same time – these graduates will lead us into a better future. Wilberforce University gave these students a fresh, debt-free start – one where they can enter a world forever changed by COVID with their education as their greatest resource, ready to change the world.
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