Miranda Kerr, Snapchat co-founder pay off student loans for college’s graduating class

(Gray News) – The graduating class of a California college won’t have to worry about paying back their student loans, thanks to a generous donation from model and businesswoman Miranda Kerr and co-founder of SnapChat Evan Spiegel.

The Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles said the significant donation is the largest in the college’s history in a release.

Charles Hirschhorn, President of Otis College of Art and Design, said the school is grateful for the donation.

“Student debt weighs heavily on our diverse and talented graduates,” he said in a release. “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.”

The donation was made through the Spiegel Family Fund, which was founded by Spiegel and Kerr in 2017. The fund is committed to supporting organizations that “contribute to human progress,” according to its website.

The donation was announced at Otis College’s 2022 commencement, which featured Spiegel, who took classes at the college while in high school. Kerr was also featured, along with Bobby Berk, the host of “Queer Eye.”

The college said the donation will also be used to create the Alternative Loan Debt Repayment Fund, which it said will be used to make charitable gifts to graduating students with similar educational loans outside of Otis College.

Otis College of Art and Design is a nonprofit institution that was established in 1918. The school said it prepares students who specialize in art and design in Los Angeles for “a dynamic future in the creative economy.”