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- After I became a mom of five kids, I couldn't afford my student-loan repayments.
- This year, my $200,000 student debt was forgiven.
- I'm now able to think about my future and buy a house for my family.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Linda Whitman. It has been edited for length and clarity.
It was 1987 when I started my college journey at Adams State College — now Adams State University — in Alamosa, Colorado. I was 17 and dreamed of becoming a high-school counselor.
After one semester, some life events prevented me from studying full time until 1992. I graduated in May 1995 with my bachelor's in psychology and started graduate work in counseling. Life circumstances struck again, and I'm still five classes short of getting that graduate degree. I eventually changed direction and went into construction management — the field I've worked in for nearly 22 years.
In 2009, I applied for an income-driven repayment plan. This was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 to make education more affordable, but it was a one-time adjustment that resulted in my full loan forgiveness in August at age 53.
Hardships made it difficult to make student-loan payments
I was in a bad car accident in fall 1996, which gave me brain trauma. I tried one more semester of school, but I had to leave the counseling program. What I borrowed between my undergraduate and graduate work was about $60,000, and it ballooned to more than $200,000 because of the compound interest.
When my now-ex-husband went to prison, I became a single mom to five kids. I moved to Washington — to an island that doesn't have a whole lot of high-paying jobs. The first opportunity I got was working in a kitchen, and I then got an offer to go into construction and work at the office front desk. I did everything I could. I was working 40 hours a week at $13 an hour, which eventually increased to $16.50 an hour.
It was awful. I wanted to pay my student loans, but it was more important to provide for my family. Even with state assistance — including food stamps and insurance — there wasn't enough money. I reconsolidated my loans twice so I could continue deferring them. I couldn't deal with it, so I didn't.
My student loans were finally forgiven under the Biden administration
In July, I received an email from the Education Department saying I was eligible to have my loans forgiven. The Biden administration granted a one-time adjustment for everyone who owed student debt for 20 to 25 years.
The forgiveness wasn't sudden. My debt on August 1 was $201,324.52. Now, granted, I didn't borrow that much; that number is thanks to interest.
On August 14, I looked again and found that over $88,000 had been forgiven. It was the undergraduate portion. I said: "Oh, thank you, Lord." That was awesome. It cut my loans almost in half. This was a huge blessing.
At the end of August, I figured I needed to find out what my new payment would be come October. I looked, and it said, "Paid in full."
My balance was zero. I just screamed in shock.
My life has changed after student-loan forgiveness
I posted on Facebook to thank every taxpayer for contributing to my loan forgiveness, and some of the comments from my "friends" were saddening.
"Tell me how that is fair. No one is helping me pay off my mortgage," one person commented. Another wrote, "Here's a thought…Pay your loans back yourself. Be responsible for yourself! If you can't afford to pay back a loan don't borrow the money."
So I sit in my excitement now with just a few close family members.
I'd been trying for the past seven or eight years to buy a house, but my loans were stopping me. Now I will finally be able to do that, and I'm so excited. I had been feeling like I'd failed to achieve the American dream of owning a home. However, when I saw my student-loan statement say, "Paid in full," I knew this dream would finally be possible.
I'm just grateful; I'm just so thankful.