NC State Graduation Speaker Stuns Students By Paying Off Their Loans

May 12, 2026

A surprise announcement at a North Carolina graduation ceremony turned cheers into tears when a businessman stood before hundreds of students and revealed that he and his wife would pay off the graduating class’s final-year student loans, giving many of them a fresh start as they step into the future.

Anil Kochhar / Wilson College of Textiles

Students at North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles thought they were attending a normal commencement ceremony on May 8. Instead, they walked away with diplomas and life-changing news.

The unforgettable moment came during the keynote speech from Anil Kochhar, whose late father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, once sat in those same classrooms after traveling from Punjab, India, to Raleigh in 1946 to study textile manufacturing at NC State.

Prakash Kochhar went on to earn both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the university in the early 1950s, and decades later, his family decided to honor that journey in a remarkable way.

“It is my privilege to announce today that, in honor of my father Prakash Chand Kochhar, Marilyn and I are providing a graduation gift to cover all the final-year education loans incurred by Wilson College graduates during the 2025–26 academic year,” Anil Kochhar told the crowd.

For a moment, the arena seemed stunned into silence. Then came roaring applause, cheers, and a standing ovation as students realized what the announcement meant for them personally.

The graduating class included 176 students earning bachelor’s degrees and 26 receiving master’s degrees. For many of them, the gift could remove a major financial burden just as they begin their careers.

“Marilyn and I hope that all of you leave Reynolds Coliseum today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks and build the lives you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Kochhar said.