ICYMI: Georgia Students Celebrate POTUS Keeping Student Loan Promise

Last week, President Biden fulfilled another campaign promise by announcing his plan to provide student loan relief – with nearly 90% of relief going to those earning less than $75,000 per year. More than 1.6 million Georgians hold student debt averaging $41,600 per borrower, the third-highest average in the nation. 

Here’s how Georgia students celebrated this relief for middle-class families:

• The Augusta Chronicle: For Augusta students debt relief means less stress, more opportunity and higher retention
  • Augusta University senior Anthony Veasley is among 43 million students who will receive federal student loan debt relief. 
  • When a reporter for The Augusta Chronicle shared the news, he closed his eyes, smiled and made the sign of the cross. “That’s a blessing,” he said.
  • Half of Veasley’s debt will be forgiven. Though he and his mother will be on the hook for the remainder of the bill, it’s still a relief.
  • “That’s a little less of a burden to get done,” he said. “I’m glad.”
  • AU freshman Jazmine Medlock saved every dollar she could to attend her first year. 
  • She was wowed by the news, and said this would “absolutely” help her continue her education uninterrupted in the years to come. As a result, she is considering becoming a double major, she said.
  • For Imo Sunday, another AU senior, this means he would be debt free. When The Augusta Chronicle told him that, his eyes went wide, he sat back and said with a laugh, “run that back for me.”
  • When the news was repeated, and he was told the details of the plan, Sunday said “Man, I ain’t gonna lie, that probably made my day.”
  • Cross Creek High School guidance counselor Chashawna Wesby said she sees students who either can’t or don’t go to college because they don’t want to rack up so much debt “all the time.”
  • She’s familiar with their struggle. As someone who is still paying off college loans and a mother whose daughter has some student debt, any relief will help take some of that worry away.

• 13WMAZ Macon:
  • For Kendra Jolly, a Central Georgia Technical College student, President Joe Biden’s recent announcement on student forgiveness loans will help her out, she said. 
  • Jolly’s a veteran, a single mom, and an employee at Central Georgia Technical College. She said she tries her best to juggle all her responsibilities. 
  • The money will help lift a weight off her shoulders, she said. The Veterans Association is helping her pay for some of her schooling, but she is grateful for the extra push the loans can provide her.
  • She said she is looking forward to the loans helping out more students like her.

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