Help Jessica Pay off her Student Debt

I have so many goals and most of them include my best friend Lily. One of our favorite activities is to find new recipes and cook them together. Last summer we had a lot of time and learned a ton of vegetarian recipes. We want to go to culinary school together. Hopefully one day, we’ll have a food truck business or a type of hole-in-the-wall restaurant. We want to buy a piece of land and grow food that different kinds of people in our surrounding community can enjoy. 


These are all pipe dreams for now because over the last couple of years, I have been paying off a student loan debt of $20,000. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't the biggest amount, but it has caused me a lot of financial struggles. I was at Seattle University after I graduated from Garfield High School, and although I was able to get a scholarship, the amount granted was only enough to get me through less than one quarter of university, and my financial aid had fallen through. I couldn’t afford to stay three more years, regardless of how great of a school it was. I left SU after one quarter with $20,000 in debt and attempted to finish my education at Seattle Central CC. 

While at Seattle Central, I was paying for classes out of my own pocket while working two jobs. I worked in the deli of Leschi Mart and as a busser/host at La Medusa. This was super stressful for me - I lived in Federal Way and was taking three busses to get to school by 10am, and rushing out of my last afternoon class to get to work within 40 minutes, usually getting off of work by 8pm and bussing back home; this routine being almost every day. Though community college was far cheaper, the stress and anxiety of two jobs, homework, classes was simply too much for me to carry at 19. I had no social life or any friends at school, zero time for office hours or extracurriculars to build a school resume. I decided to leave school and quit my job at the deli. That’s when I became aware of my debt. A collections agency had picked it up and eventually a consumer bank (Sallie Mae) was the only option for me. At the rate that I’m going alone, my loan won’t be paid off for another decade and I’ll be 30 years old. 


Truthfully, this debt is the reason I can’t continue my education and it has ruined my credit before I had the chance to build it. The $4,000 I’ve already given to Sallie Mae is more than what I have in my bank account and that is mindblowing to me. If I can reach more people than my own community, people who are willing to help me out, then I don’t believe it’s too late for me to go back to school, get a degree, and build a better life for myself. I don’t think it’s fair that so many people have loans solely because we/they chose to get an education. This system is ruthless, and honestly education and schooling should be free regardless of income. 

When I’m free of this debt, I will put my finances into necessities like buying a car to commute to my job, contributing to my savings, continuing to building my credit, saving for a downpayment for a home when the time comes, investmenting to increase my money, and will give me the ability to pay for culinary school. All of this won’t magically happen over night, but not having the burden of a loan and overwhelming monthly payments will do a lot for my life and finances, as well as for my family. 


My goal is only set at $20,000. I will use $16,000 to pay off my loan and the remainder to buy a car or start culinary school. Any amount will help. I appreciate you reading my story and helping me achieve my dreams. Thank you for your support ❤️