An anonymous donor paid off the student debts for the 2022 graduates of Wiley College, a small historically black college in Marshall, Texas, the school said.

In a press release, the school said the estimated total balances owed to the college by the graduating class of more than 100 students was $300,000.

Video posted to Facebook shows students at the East Texas college hearing the news from President Dr Herman J Felton Jr during Wiley College’s 133rd Commencement Convocation on May 7.

“You are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny,” Felton said. “If you had a balance … you no longer have a balance.”

The school called the anonymous gift “a great way to end the semester.” Credit: Wiley College via Storyful

Video transcript

HERMAN J. FELTON, JR.: And you are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance. You no longer have a balance.

[CHEERING]

And you are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance. You no longer have a balance.

[CHEERING]

And you are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance. You no longer have a balance.

[CHEERING]

And you are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance. You no longer have a balance.

[CHEERING]