GREEN COUNTY, Ohio — Recent Wilberforce University graduates received a gift they weren't expecting over the weekend: The school has completely wiped their student debt. 

President Elfred Anthony Pinkard told 2020 and 2021 graduates Saturday that their debt owed to the university has been settled, and they have a zero balance. 

"As these graduates begin their lives as responsible adults, we are honored to be able to give them a fresh start by relieving their student debt to the university," said Pinkard. 

Students who graduated from the historically Black college last spring and fall as well this this spring no longer have student debt. The university said it was able to pay off the debt through various scholarships, including United Negro College Fund, Inc., Jack and Jill, Inc. and other institutional funding.

“I couldn’t believe it when he said it. It’s a blessing. I know God will be with me. I’m not worried. I can use that money and invest it into my future," said Rodman Allen, a 2021 alumnus. 

The total tally of student debt cleared for students who graduated in 2020 and 2021 exceeds $375,000, according to the university. 

The total federal student loan debt in the U.S. is around $1.57 trillion, according to educationdata.org. In Ohio, the average student loan debt per borrower is $34,000. The state has the highest number of indebted student loan borrowers per capita and residents are the most likely to have the highest student loan debt, according to federal data. 

Nationally, the student loan debt balance increased more than 8% in 2020.

President Joe Biden proposed to eliminate $10,000 in student debt per borrower, and in April, he asked the Department of Education to prepare a memo that would outline his power to be able to implement it through executive action.