A group of North Carolina college graduates was stunned to learn that their commencement speaker was paying off their senior year student loans.
Anil Kochhar took the stage Friday during the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University’s commencement, when more than 170 students earned their bachelor’s degrees, and 26 received their master’s, according to Axios Raleigh. Kochhar’s father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, received his bachelor’s and master’s from the college in the Fifties.
“It is my privilege to announce today that, in honor of my father, my wife Marilyn and I are providing a graduation gift to cover all the final-year education loans incurred by Wilson College graduates during the 2025–26 academic year,” Kochhar said.
“Marilyn and I hope that all of you leave Reynolds Coliseum today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks and build the lives you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” he continued.
Students appeared stunned by the generosity, clapping and jumping up and down in a video captured of the moment and shared to Instagram.
David Hinks, the inaugural Prakash Chand Kochhar Dean at Wilson College of Textiles, said in a statement: “I could not be more grateful to Anil and Marilyn for this extraordinary investment in our newest Wilson for Life alumni.
“As the preeminent institution for textiles education, research and innovation, we are deeply committed to ensuring the Wilson College enables students from all walks of life to transform their own lives while graduating with zero or low debt. One of our primary goals is to make the Wilson College affordable for all, and Anil and Marilyn are helping us achieve it.”
In the Instagram comments, many praised Kochhar for his kind gift.
“Instant tears!! As a parent of a kid in Wilson, to see them looking for their parents, it tore me up,” one wrote, while a graduate from the college added: “Absolutely incredible. We are so blessed by this donation and its impact!!!”
“I can only imagine they were clapping but were in shock and not fully processing the generosity. That’s a huge gift!” a third wrote.
Two months before the commencement, the school announced that Kochhar and his wife were gifting three funds in honor of his father, who earned his bachelor’s degree in textile manufacturing.
The offerings, all named after Kochhar’s dad, included the Dean’s Chair Endowment, the Endowed Faculty fund and the Graduate Support Endowment.