My student loan debt has been such a weight on me for so long, I thought it would be part of my life forever. But I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the UFT.
The Student Debt Relief Program negotiated with the same loan provider who told me I wasn’t eligible for student loan forgiveness, and they worked a miracle. My monthly payment was lowered to less than half what it was. And after 10 years of qualifying payments, the remainder — which the program reps estimate will be about $16,000 — will be forgiven.
I’m a speech pathologist. I finished graduate school two weeks after giving birth to my first child and then I immediately started my clinical fellowship. By the time I was licensed, I had a second child and I wanted to take time off to be with my kids.
I was pretty much forced into student loan forbearance — which allows you to pause your payments — but I didn’t realize I would accrue thousands of dollars in interest. Whatever dent I had made in repaying my loan was completely erased. And by the time I started working for the DOE three years ago, I owed more on my loan than when I graduated!
I mentioned my high student loan payment — more than $500 a month — to my chapter leader, Danielle Noto. I would never have known about the Student Debt Relief Program if it hadn’t been for Danielle. She’s so dedicated and caring and she urged me to call the union. But I had given up hope; I had even checked to make sure my children couldn’t inherit my debt. I only picked up the phone because of Danielle’s persistence.
The program reps were kind and patient and very knowledgeable. It was incredibly easy. All I had to do was attend a seminar and then participate in a phone consultation. The reps explained everything in great detail. I gave them the documentation they needed, and they took it from there. Then I got an email with my new monthly payment, which is so much more manageable. It’s really changed my life.
I’m proud to be part of a union that fights so tirelessly, not only for our professional well-being but also our personal well-being.
In a few years, my student loan will be a thing of the past. You can’t put a price on that.
Katelyn Bean is a speech teacher at PS 889 in Brooklyn.
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)