Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and wife Miranda Kerr pay student loans for entire graduating class at L.A. art college
No sooner had Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel and his wife, model and makeup mogul Miranda Kerr, received honorary degrees at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles than they turned around and pledged to pay off the graduating class’s student loans.
The “significant donation” from the Spiegel Family Fund exceeded $10 million, the school said in a statement, while not revealing the full amount.
The couple were commencement speakers Sunday and received honorary degrees before making the largest donation in the school’s 100-plus year history.
The gift for the 285-member class of 2022 was a boon for people like Yaritza Velazquez-Medina, who can now launch her career as a graphic designer without the burden of $70,000 in debt, she told the Los Angeles Times.
“I’m speechless,” Velazquez-Medina told the newspaper as tears streamed down her face.
Now she is no longer one of the 13 million Americans who owe a collective $1.6 trillion to the federal government for their education, the biggest portion of consumer debt in the country, second only to mortgages, the Los Angeles Times noted.
“Otis is incredibly grateful for this historic gift from Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel, which will be life-changing for the Class of 2022 and their families,” Charles Hirschhorn, president of Otis College of Art and Design, said in a statement. “Student debt weighs heavily on our diverse and talented graduates. We hope this donation will provide much-deserved relief and empower them to pursue their aspirations and careers, pay this generosity forward, and become the next leaders of our community.”
Otis is a private, nonprofit college established in 1918, the first professional arts school in Los Angeles. A good 77% of its 1,200 students identify as nonwhite, and 30% are the first in their family to attend college.
“Otis College of Art and Design is an extraordinary institution that encourages young creatives to find their artistic voices and thrive in a variety of industries and careers,” Spiegel and Kerr said in a statement. “It is a privilege for our family to give back and support the Class of 2022, and we hope this gift will empower graduates to pursue their passions, contribute to the world, and inspire humanity for years to come.”
The gift will also establish the Alternative Loan Debt Repayment Fund, which the school will use for charitable gifts to graduating students who secured their loans outside Otis.
The couple founded the Spiegel Family Fund in 2017 to focus on philanthropy in the arts, education, housing and human rights. Spiegel attended some classes at Otis in high school before moving on to Stanford University. Kerr founded the beauty company Kora and serves as its CEO. Spiegel is worth more than $5.2 billion, People reported.
