As we celebrate the class of 2022, the students of Wiley College in Marshall, TX received a surprise at this year’s commencement ceremony after earning their degrees.
During the graduation ceremony, the college’s President & CEO Herman J. Felton, Jr., announced that their student balances had been cleared. According to the college, despite the school’s reduced tuition, the pandemic has made it hard for some students to pay off their remaining balances. When it comes to the class of 2022, there was an estimated balance of at least $300,000. However, that all changed thanks to an anonymous donor.
President Felton said,
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“Our commitment to our students goes beyond their time while they are enrolled. We are constantly communicating with donors to assist students in these ways so that they can begin their after-college experience with less debt. We are grateful for this anonymous donor who will assist the students in paying off their balances to Wiley College and help us achieve institutional goals of graduating our students with little to no debt.”
Congratulations 2022 Graduates, YOU ARE DEBT FREE!
Go Forth Inspired, glorious deeds to do. 🥹🙌🏾#wileygrad22 #wileycollege #hbcu #hbcugrad #hbcupride #goforthinspired pic.twitter.com/a0zHUDTFc4— Wiley University (@WileyUniversity) May 7, 2022
If the name Wiley College sounds familiar to you, that is because the college served as the inspiration behind the 2007 film “The Great Debaters,” which stars Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. The film focuses on Wiley College’s debate team defeating Harvard College in the 1930s.
The news of Wiley College’s graduates having their student balances cleared comes on the news of many other people around the country hoping to have their student debt canceled. As many of you know, the pandemic has allowed the slow down on paying off student loans. However many people are holding on to the hope of having their expenses completely canceled.
As we previously reported, last month President Joe Biden spoke on student loan debt and said that he was not considering canceling $50k worth of student loan debt, but he was looking into other options.
He said, “I am considering dealing with some debt reduction. I am not considering a $50,000 debt reduction. But I’m in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there are going – there will be additional debt forgiveness, and I’ll have an answer on that in the next couple of weeks.”
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
