
Anyone who has a degree or has studied for one will know that the loans are not easy to pay off, especially in this day and age where lucrative jobs are few and far between.
On Sunday at the graduation ceremony at Morehouse College, Georgia, Robert Smith, a local billionaire technology investor and philanthropist informed the 400 students that he would be paying off all of their student loans.
It is estimated that this is likely to cost Smith around $40m (£31m), which will be repaid to the college in the form of grants. Speaking at the event, the CEO of Vista Equity Partners said:
On behalf of the eight generations on my family that have been in this country, we're gonna put a little fuel in your bus.Â
This is a challenge to you, alumni. This is my class, 2019 and my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.
The announcement which was warmly greeted by the students comes amid a student loan debt crisis in the United States, where debt has been reaching record figures.
Morehouse College president David A Thomas added that Smith's generous gift would have a significant effect on those graduating.
Many of my students are interested in going into teaching, for example, but leave with an amount of student debt that makes that untenable.
In some ways, it was a liberation gift for these young men that just opened up their choices.
Reaction to the clip of Smith making the announcement has gone viral on Twitter, with many people seemingly moved by the gesture.
Video of Morehouse College's graduating class being told by commencement speaker Robert F Smith that he's paying of… https://t.co/iWH9tMVjAN— Archie Bland (@Archie Bland) 1558286238
I was waiting for this video. It was worth the wait. https://t.co/KyGeSyxv8y— Benjamin Park (@Benjamin Park) 1558287439
My Lord, watching those young faces behold the light of that rising sun. https://t.co/9r5abKWL8O— Connie Schultz (@Connie Schultz) 1558350638
@archiebland @AOC Talk about raising the bar for every commencement speaker moving forward!— Owen Smith (@Owen Smith) 1558288863
@archiebland @AOC Why did I just tear up like it was my money? These students have such a leg up on life!— Natalie in NYC (@Natalie in NYC) 1558305495
I want you to sit with how obviously good this is for these kids. How it will change everything for them. Next I w… https://t.co/mc6GkSYLCA— A.R. Moxon (@A.R. Moxon) 1558356781
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also welcomed the gift but added that students shouldn't be in this situation where they have to depend on someone else to pay off their loan.
Every Morehouse Class of 2019 student is getting their student debt load paid off by their commencement speaker. T… https://t.co/8EaxuZxSNn— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1558285034