Graduates at North Carolina State University were left stunned after a commencement speaker announced at the graduation ceremony that he and his wife would personally cover their final year of student loan debt. Entrepreneur Anil Kochhar and his wife Marilyn were the donors of the graduation gift benefiting 200 graduates. The couple said the gesture was made in honor of Anil’s late father, Prakash Chand Kocchar, who studied textile manufacturing at the college after arriving in the U.S. from India in the 1940s. “Marilyn and I hope that all of you leave Reynolds Coliseum today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks, and build the lives you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” said Anil. The University later confirmed that it had coordinated with its Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to help facilitate the debt relief plan.
