Class of 2022 Wiley College Graduates Receive Gracious Donation from Anonymous Donor
After celebrating a graduation, many students have to face the not-so-exciting moment that comes with it: paying back student loans or remaining balances. According to Student Loan Hero, in the United States, there is nearly $1.75 trillion in total student loan debt, with about 46 million Americans having student loan debt. Thankfully, the U.S. The Department of Education has recently extended federal student interest and loan repayments until August 31, 2022, giving borrowers more time before they need to begin making monthly payments again.
Recent Graduates of HBCU, Wiley College, won’t need to worry about repaying their balances thanks to an anonymous donor. During their graduation ceremony on May 7, 2022, over 100 students and their loved ones gathered to celebrate their accomplishments, unaware of the enormous announcement coming their way. During the ceremony, president and CEO of Wiley College, Dr. Herman J. Felton Jr., revealed that an anonymous donor paid the remaining balances of the graduates, which totaled $300,000.
Dr. Felton Jr. made the following statement in a press release from Wiley:
“Our commitment to our students goes beyond their time while 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 .”
Students and their supporters rejoiced after the grand announcement, showing gratitude to the anonymous donor.
Despite Wiley College’s commitment to helping students with financial aid through reduced tuition, students still had balances to pay post-graduation. Unfortunately, these finances only worsened once the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic came to fruition, causing excessive turmoil for students and their families (Yahoo!). Graduates won’t have to worry about paying their balances with this fantastic donation.