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Detroit native and Morehouse grad promised to have students loans paid off by billionaire

MICHIGAN COURIER — When recent Morehouse College graduate Kristopher Mathis moves to Chicago July 15 to start as a sales consultant at Amazon, he will not have to worry about student loans. That is because billionaire Robert F. Smith told the all-male Morehouse class of 2019 that he would pay off the student loans for the entire class of 396. The total amount Is estimated at $40 million.

Published

5 years ago

May 29, 2019

Oakland Post

By Branden Hunter

When recent Morehouse College graduate Kristopher Mathis moves to Chicago July 15 to start as a sales consultant at Amazon, he will not have to worry about student loans. That is because billionaire Robert F. Smith told the all-male Morehouse class of 2019 that he would pay off the student loans for the entire class of 396. The total amount Is estimated at $40 million.

Mathis, 21, who hails from the East English Village neighborhood on Detroit’s east side, and graduated from University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 2015, was looking at roughly $57,000 in student loan debt prior to Smith’s commencement speech May 19. Debt that could have taken him years to pay off was gone with 11 words from Smith’s mouth.

“I was shocked, and I had to take a double take,” said Mathis, who graduated cum laude, with a degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing and a minor in sales. “I honestly couldn’t process what he had just said. Immediately after he said that, my mom texted me and told me to thank him. And that’s just what I did.

“When I was getting my diploma on stage, Mr. Smith was there. I shook his hand and told him that he was a true blessing, not only to myself, but to the other 395 brothers who were in my gradutiaon class.”

Billionaire Robert F. Smith announced during Sunday’s commencement speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta said that he and his family would pay off the entire graduating class’s student debt.

In the fall of 2015, 750 males started off as freshmen at Morehouse College, which has produced icons such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee, Julian Bond, Herman Cain, and many others. By graduation day Sunday, only 396 walked across the stage in Atlanta. Mathis believes many students left because they could not afford the $50,000 per year it takes to study at Morehouse College.

“I know I couldn’t 50,000 a year,” said Mathis. “But my first year, I took that leap of faith, understanding that Morehouse was where I wanted to be. I created a plan for how I was going to get things paid for and in the end, God blessed me to where I don’t have to worry about that now, thanks to Mr. Smith and his generosity.”

Finances play a vital part in deciding which college to attend. For Mathis, he took the advice of his Midnight Golf Program mentors and others to get as many scholarships as he could. In the end, he took out a loan to cover part of his $50,000 per year costs for tuition, room and board at Morehouse. He credits that experience with helping him get serious his senior year of high school and is still close with his Midnight Golf friends and mentors.

The Midnight Golf Program was founded in 2001 by Reneé Fluker, a social worker and single mother who noticed the impact golf had on her son’s life. Today, the program serves 250 Detroit area high school seniors annually, participating in a 30-week curriculum to learn the game of golf, build relationships with mentors, and develop life skills required for college and career success. Midnight Golf helps seniors enter college and continues mentoring throughout college and into the graduates’ professional careers.

“Kris is one of our stars of Midnight Golf,” said Winston Coffee, College Liaison and College Success Coach for Midnight Golf. “You could tell early in our program that he was a determined young person and his choice of Morehouse made perfect since. We’ve been proud of his matriculation and watched as he seized opportunities in Atlanta. When we heard about the generous gift to the Morehouse graduates, we were thrilled for Kris and his family.”

Student loan debt has become a national crisis. Over 44 million borrowers owe more than $1.5 billion collectively and the student loan delinquency rate remains relatively high at 11.4 percent. Worse, more than 609,000 people owe more than $200,000 on their student loan, and 1.3 million owe between $100,000 and $150,000. It is a scary reality for many Americans, having to payback money for college they do not have.

For Mathis, he said he was blessed to only owe about $57,000 and not the six figures that others in his class owed prior to Smith’s gift. He comes from a middle-class working family and a large majority of his loans were taken out by his parents under the Parent PLUS loan program. It is not clear what all will be covered under Smith’s promise, but Mathis and his parents, Derrick and Printess, were all smiling after the news.

“A month or two from now, I was expecting to receive a bill from the government for my student loans,” said Mathis. “Now I can save more of my money and begin into invest in things that will make my money work for me. Ultimately, Mr. Smith has put me in a better financial situation, as well as my family.”

Mathis said he is proud to be a Morehouse man now and wants to reciprocate the gift Smith gave to him to future Morehouse graduates, maybe not in terms of money but through mentorship. But first, he wants to see Smith follow through with his own promise.

“I’m very curious to see the terms and conditions of Mr. Smith’s promise. I want to see the fine print,” said Mathis. “I know that he has the means and power to wipeout all the student loans debts and the Parent PLUS loans, but I’m hoping he follows through. That was a big statement to make and I’m looking forward to see how the process will play out.”

Morehouse College provided a statement on Smith’s financial promise. He received an honorary doctorate from Morehouse during the ceremony and had already announced a $1.5 million gift to the school.

“We, at Morehouse College, would like to thank Vista Equity Partners founder, Chairman & CEO Robert F. Smith, our honorary alumnus, for the surprise gift that he offered to the graduating class at Morehouse’s 135th Commencement ceremony. To be free from the financial burden of paying off student loans will be life-changing for the Class of 2019. Our Office of Business and Finance, as well as our Office of Enrollment Management, have been working diligently to calculate the student loan debt and other details of this gift. As soon as we have a final figure, we will share it with our new graduates so that they can continue on the path to careers and top-tier graduate schools student loan debt free.”

This article originally appeared in the Michigan Chronicle.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

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17 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”