NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A billionaire technology investor stunned the entire graduating class at Morehouse College this weekend when he announced at their commencement that he would pay off their student loans.
Elijah Dormeus, of Harlem, was one of those students.
He says that he didn’t realize what was happening at first but once he understood what was being offered, he was overwhelmed with excitement.
“I just jumped onto a chair,” he tells WCBS 880’s Steve Scott. “It hit me just like that.”
He adds, “As soon as we heard the news we went up and were like, “Yes sir! Yes sir! We did it! We did it! We’re here! Thank you! Thank you!’”
Dormeus is one of nine children and is the first to graduate from college. His father died when he was 7-years-old and he says his mother was the sole provider and nurturer while he was growing up in New York.
“She used to always come home late when I was younger, but I didn’t understand why, but I used to just wait up for her and she used to be working. So, every time she’d come home she said ‘son, you can always do anything you put your mind to, it’s just how you look at it,’” Dormeus said.
He notes that five of his siblings are currently in college and his youngest sibling is a senior in high school. He says without his college debt, he can now help support his siblings who are working towards their own degrees.
“I can pay it forward for someone else,” Dormeus said. “Because someone did it for me and I’m grateful.”
Without the generosity of Robert F. Smith, Morehouse College’s commencement speaker, Dormeus would have accumulated $100,000 in student debt.
In his speech, Smith said he expected the graduating class to "pay it forward" and said he hoped that "every class has the same opportunity going forward."
Dormeus agrees saying Smith’s gift “is a gift that keeps on giving.”
“I don’t only have to serve (his community) one time. I can serve 10 times, 20 times. It just keeps on going and going because of that small seed,” he said. “And it’s having that small impact that has a big change that makes it so powerful.”