Source: Marcus Ingram / Getty
Texas billionaire Robert F. Smith‘s grand gesture of paying off the student loan debt of the Morehouse graduating class of 2019 has made them internationally known. On Sunday, Smith gave the commencement address to a class of approximately 400 students and told them, “My family is making a debt to eliminate your student loans!”
The news hit Sugar Land’s Alexander Sims and Beaumont’s James Payne in waves. Both Sims and Payne told KHOU that it took a moment to register what had just happened, that the Class of 2019 would be walking out of Morehouse debt free.
“He said that and all of us were kind of like, wait…wait a minute,” Sims said.
“It was a weird moment,” Payne said. “We were all like, wait. Like, did he just say wipe out all of the student debt for the entire class?”
“And then, when it really clicked with us, all of us jumped up and started jumping and crying and hugging each other,” Sims said.
“I could hear moms crying I could hear dad’s crying,” Payne said.
The pair are going to continue their education in law school. Sims will be attending Howard Law School and Payne will be attending Harvard Law School in the fall. Smith’s gift, worth an estimated $40 million, has driven both Sims and Payne to want to pay it forward in their own way down the line.
“It drives me to give back more. So hopefully one day I can do the same,” Payne said.
The Houston Morehouse Alumni Association had raised more than $100,000 in the past 7 years to benefit Houston-area students in the form of scholarships. Learn what you can do in order to contribute by clicking here.
RELATED: Top Of The Morning: Double Blessing For Morehouse Grads
