An Indian-origin entrepreneur has drawn attention in the United States after announcing that he would take over the student loan burden of an entire graduating class.
The announcement was made on May 8 at the graduation ceremony of the Wilson School of Textiles in North Carolina, where businessman Anil Kochar attended as the chief guest.
Addressing the students, Kochar said he and his wife, Marlene, would fully pay the final-year education loans of all 176 graduates. The statement was met with thunderous applause in the auditorium.
Kochar said his intention was to help students begin their lives with confidence, without the weight of education debt. He also recalled that his father, Prakash Chand Kochar, came to the US from Punjab in 1946 and was the college’s second Indian student, adding that the country’s welcome helped shape his family’s journey.
