Nick Cannon clears Jamaican’s student loan debt
Marie Rattigan, 25, was indebted in the amount of US$ 52,684 ( approximately J$ 7.8 million) after completing her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
(FAMU).
Like many tertiary students, she had no idea how to pay off the sum. But last week, she was one of seven recipients of Hollywood star Nick Cannon’s scholarship initiative, which cleared her student loan debts. Rattigan completed her master’s degree in AfricanAmerican studies in August.
Cannon recently partnered with the Thurgood Marshall Fund and the United Negro College Fund to provide relief for loan debts of students of historically black colleges and universities, once they graduated.
“I left Miami with $300 and a dream. My father wasn’t able to go to a university, so he made sure if it was the last thing that he gave me, it was going to be those last $300 to get me up there,” Rattigan said in her submission video.
Born in the USA to Jamaican parents, tennis player Donovan Rattigan and Michelle Ribalta, Rattigan said that she was surprised by the scholarship.
SHEER JOY
Prior to the announcement on Cannon’s latest venture, his self- styled Nick Cannon Show, Rattigan was asked by one of Cannon’s team members how she intends to repay her student loans. Her reserved answer was, “I gave it to God already”. The announcement that she was a recipient of the scholarship brought sheer joy.
“I was completely shocked and speechless because I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen. Hearing his announcement, I was in complete disbelief. I kept saying I knew God was up to something because while being on set, there was a confetti machine that went off before its time. This came as a surprise because I didn’t know how I was going to pay off my student loan debt,” she recounted.
Her reaction was captured on live television, and saw Rattigan crying tears of joy. She said that the opportunity has given her a fresh start on her journey at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Rattigan is the first intern with Tiffany Baker- Carper, the youngest AfricanAmerican to be elected judge of the Second Judicial Court in Florida.
This internship comes 12 years after Rattigan was brought before a judge as a juvenile, with a charge of resisting arrest without resistance. A couple of months later, the case was dropped.
“This is a fresh start for me, being able to have Nick Cannon partner with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to pay off my student loans. I know there is no coincidence. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is my number one law school that I was applying to followed by Harvard, FAMU, Stetson and Florida State University. Moving forward, I am excited to receive my acceptance letters to law school and become the first civil rights attorney in my family,” she told
THE STAR.
For Jamaicans faced with student loan debts, Rattigan is encouraging them to think beyond limitations and keep focused on the goal at heart.
“My father travelled internationally as a tennis player for Jamaica and was not able to go to the university that accepted him because of financial hardship. As a Rattigan, it is my duty to further my education and build a legacy for my family and Jamaica. Don’t be afraid to plant seeds because eventually a flower will bloom,” she assured.