The CEO and co-founder of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel, gave the ultimate gift for the graduation of 285 graduates from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.
Through his non-profit located in the Westchester area in LA, he announced that together with his wife, the CEO of KORA Organics, Miranda Kerr, they’ve made a huge donation so the school can now pay off all the loan debts of the 2022 graduates.
According to the President of the college, Charles Hirschhorn, they’re immensely grateful for this historic gift from Kerr and Spiegel and noted that this will change the lives of the graduates and their families.
School Debts Undoubtedly Put a Lot of Pressure on Graduates
He emphasized how school debts cause a lot of stress and pressure on the talented and diverse graduates so they really hope that this donation will bring them the needed relief and encourage them to pursue their careers.
He also added that he hopes that the graduates will also pay forward this immense generosity and become the next community leaders.
Spiegel and Kerr stated that this college is an extraordinary institution that motivates young creative people to find their artistic voices and succeed in different careers and industries.
The pair who is dedicated to philanthropy says that it’s a privilege for them to give back to the community and support the 2022 Class. They hope this gift will be an inspiration for the graduates to pursue their wishes, contribute to a better world, and continue inspiring humanity.
Though the exact amount of the generous donation wasn’t stated, Otis College noted that it’s more than the largest offering and surpassed the previous record which was $10 million. This gift was made through the Spiegel Family Fund.
Spiegel Went to Otis Himself
Spiegel took summer classes at Otis during high school before he enrolled at Stanford where he made the social media app with two, former classmates from Cardinal.
According to Spiegel, this changed his life and made him feel at home. He was pushed and challenged to grow surrounded by talented designers and artists and emphasized how they were all in it together.
President Joe Biden last month stated that he’s looking into canceling some student loan debt, or around a $50,000 reduction however, he also added that he’s in the process of looking at whether or not there will be extra debt forgiveness efforts.
More than 43 million Americans owe the Federal government $1.6 trillion or an average of $37,000 per person. This is the biggest share of consumer debt in the US after mortgages.
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