The graduates of the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles received an extra special gift on Sunday when Evan and Miranda Kerr, co-founders of KORA Organics, announced they will pay off all of the Class of 2022.
The college said it was the largest single gift it had ever received, beating the previous $10 million record.
The Otis College of Art and Design is an extraordinary institution that encourages young creatives to find their artistic voices and thrive in a variety of industries and careers.
He credits classes at Otis as a high school student with pushing him to become who he is today.
It made me feel at home and changed my life.
The gift will be life changing for many of the graduates, according to the president of Otis College.
We hope that this donation will provide much-deserved relief and empower them to pursue their dreams, and become the next leaders of our community.
The gift will help repay loans that were certified through the school's financial aid office.
The Alternative Loan Debt Repayment Fund will make charitable gifts to graduating students who have similar educational loans secured outside of Otis College.
The majority of students at Otis receive financial aid. The Chronicle of Higher Education puts Otis in the top 1% of most diverse colleges in the country, with more than 70% of its students identifying as non-white and 26% as international.
There is a larger conversation about the student loan debt crisis in the U.S. and student loan forgiveness.
In California, 3.8 million student loan borrowers owe over $150 billion. Student loan debt in the U.S. stands at over $1 trillion.
President Joe Biden has forgiven billions of dollars in student loans for people who were cheated by their institutions. Biden announced last month that he is considering widespread student loan forgiveness, which may include income caps that could exclude high earner from debt relief.
The student loan debt crisis has hit borrowers of color particularly hard. One in three Hispanic student borrowers have put off getting married due to their student loan debt, and nearly half of Black student borrowers have delayed buying a home due to their student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Eliminating the burden of student loan debt would allow borrowers of color to begin building their savings at an earlier age, according to Bobby Matson, CEO of Payitoff.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
