Graduation day turned into an unforgettable moment for students at North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles when commencement speaker Anil Kochhar surprised the crowd with a life changing announcement.
In honor of his late father, who attended NC State and studied textiles, Kochhar and his wife Marilyn revealed they would personally pay off all final year student loans for every graduate in the class of 2026.
The gift impacts 176 undergraduate students and 26 graduate students, instantly lifting a huge financial burden from their shoulders.
Anil told graduates he hoped the gift would “unshackle” them so they could move forward with more freedom to take risks, pursue their goals, and build meaningful lives without the weight of debt hanging over them.