Enroll in Federal Loan Forgiveness Program

I love teaching anthropology. I take pride in giving students the tools they need to understand unfamiliar cultures and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. I certainly didn't pursue my PhD for the money. I've amassed tens of thousands of dollars in student debt to help pay for my education, and as adjunct faculty members my husband and I are barely scraping by. With a baby, and in an expensive city like San Diego, it's tough to make ends meet.

That's why I was so excited to learn that my employer, Palomar College, could help free me and hundreds of other employees from crushing student debt burdens with the stroke of a pen. Thanks to new Department of Education policies, many teachers like us could be eligible to have their federal student loans completely forgiven after 10 years of on-time loan payments.

My husband is also an adjunct, and we have a combined student loan debt of approximately $140,000 -- more than double our anticipated annual household income for the foreseeable future. Getting access to the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program would be a game-changer for our family.

The first step in the process is easy: Palomar College just needs to submit paperwork to the Department of Education. Once they do, hundreds of Palomar employees like me could in theory become eligible for loan forgiveness, and their example will make it easier for other colleges to follow suit. Moreover, perhaps more of our students will consider public service careers once they see that it could be a path to debt forgiveness.

The large majority of Palomar College’s faculty, like me, work with no job security and receive few benefits. By taking this simple action, Palomar can provide access to debt relief to employees who need it, and also help get the word out about loan forgiveness. As the cost of higher education continues to skyrocket, public service workers and students considering careers in public service need this information more than ever.

Please join me and my colleagues in asking Palomar College to immediately begin participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.