ANAHEIM, Calif. – With more than 45 million Americans now owing $1.6 trillion in student debt, it is no surprise that many college-aged students and college graduates are paying close attention to what presidential candidates are promising in terms of debt forgiveness.

Studies show that roughly one in every four adults has student loan debt, nearly double the number of graduates with higher education loans 15 years ago.

While all bets are off when it comes to who will be the next president of the United States, college graduate and teacher Allison Guzman is hoping the next president will be someone who could help her with her debt.

“Sanders and Warren were the two front runners in my opinion that had something very clear, very specific, very black and white about their ideologies on student debt and how they would go about doing it,” said Guzman.

Senator Elizabeth Warren plans to cancel $50,000 in debt for each person with a household income under $100,000. Senator Bernie Sanders says he would erase all student debt no matter how much money a household makes.

Those promises sound pretty good to Guzman and more than 45 million other Americans who are drowning in student debt.

“Without starting grad school, I owe about $70,000. It’s quite a bit of money,” said Guzman.

She is an education specialist teacher to moderately to severely disabled elementary school children in Santa Ana. She says owing that much money is a reason why she can’t buy a home and get married like most people her age.

So instead of letting that big number prevent her from living her life, Guzman decided to continue to invest in her education and go back to school to earn a Master’s Degree.

“At least in my mentality, I’m never going to pay all of this off anyways. So I might as well pursue what I want to pursue and try to make some good out of what I’m doing,” said Guzman.

By the end of her college career and whether one of her top picks becomes president or not, Guzman says she will owe more than $130,000. Despite that six-figure number, Guzman says she is willing to do it all over again because she believes she is making an impact on the world by educating the country’s next generation of leaders.