Why Don’t We Want The Best For Others?

I received a Pell Grant to attend college and it fundamentally changed my life. The federally-funded financial support lifted me out of poverty and, along with the help of a teacher, was the most important support that I received to attend college. As a Pell Grant wasn’t enough to pay for my tuition, room, and board, I took out student loans, which in the 1980s had an 8% interest rate. Given that my parents had little education, they did not understand what I was agreeing to as I signed the loan documents; neither did I.

After graduating college, I attended graduate school for the next decade, save one year after earning my master’s degree. Upon the completion of my Ph.D. in 2000, the student loan payments were due. At the same time, I had a new baby, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, which had a higher cost of living, for my first faculty job at Georgia State University. My salary was $43,000. With rent, daycare, a monthly student loan payment of $250+, and other necessary expenses, money was extremely tight. I was also helping my elderly parents with money every month. There were no vacations, no extras, we rarely ever ate dinner out in a restaurant, and we began accumulating credit card debt in order to make ends meet. In addition, we could only afford 3 days of daycare, which made working a full-time faculty job tough and put a lot of stress on our marriage.

In 2003, we moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and I began my second faculty job at the University of Pennsylvania with a starting salary of $58,000. We were in the same situation — nothing extra, little savings, creeping credit card debt, and we were working all the time to cover household costs. It was not until 2008, when one of my books had significant sales, that our lives changed. How? I paid off my student loans, as well as the small amount of credit card debt we had been carrying.

I remember exactly how I felt the day I paid off the $23,000+ in student loan debt that never seemed to go down no matter how much I paid each month. I’m still filled with joy when I think about the day. I felt a huge burden lift off of my shoulders, I felt a sense of freedom. We took our first vacation; we had some wiggle room in our household budget. I often wonder how long I would have been paying my student loans — a cost that I do not resent given the knowledge I gained in graduate school and the life I was eventually able to create — had my book not sold well in 2008. I assumed it would be well into my early 60s before the loans were paid.

Despite the fact that I paid off my student loans, and despite President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan not being perfect, I’m exited for those individuals who benefited from Pell Grants who will have $20,000 in student loans forgiven, and for those without Pell Grants who will benefit from $10,000 of loan forgiveness. Student loan forgiveness is not a panacea, and more money to support Pell Grants for today’s students is definitely needed. However, I remember the relief I felt paying off my student loans with a check for $23,000+. I remember being able to take a first vacation after working 80 hour weeks for so long. I remember that we were soon able to save enough money to make a small downpayment on a home — one with more than the 900 sq. ft we were living in —and to begin a college savings fund for our daughter.

Yes, I paid off my student loans, but I don’t begrudge those who will benefit from student loan forgiveness. We all benefit when more people do well — when individuals and families can live comfortably, can have ample food and secure housing, and can enjoy life more fully. We also benefit from the education of others as a nation. Why? Because education leads to more informed citizens, who contribute at a greater rate to the economy and produce greater tax revenue. We should want others to succeed, including the over 8 million individuals who stand to benefit from President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.