Course Hero Takes a $50,000 Slice out of One Student's Loan Debt

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Sep 24, 2019, 09:00 ET

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Pittsburgh University graduate Mariah Callas is one of the 45 million Americans owing a combined $1.56 trillion in student loan debt. But she finds herself $50,000 better off today, thanks to an award from online learning platform Course Hero.

Callas entered the company's "Summer Fun(ds) Sweepstakes" and won the Grand Prize of $50,000 for student-related expenses. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 with a BS in rehabilitation science and is now pursuing her doctorate there. She is currently the president of her school's Doctor of Physical Therapy Class of 2021 and plans to use her winnings to help pay off her student loan debt.

"When I graduate in 2021, I will have accumulated around $200,000 in debt," said Callas. "This $50,000 will take a chunk out of that and allow me to breathe easier after graduation."

Course Hero cofounder and CEO Andrew Grauer said, "Going to college is expensive, and the cost is one of the major barriers to graduation for many people. We know that Mariah is just one student, and this initiative represents a drop in the ocean, but we are committed to doing everything we can to help more people graduate, confident and prepared."

Watch the emotional moment Mariah Callas learned about her $50,000 prize: https://youtu.be/3GzSchH-bsk

Course Hero will award a further $85k in prizes this fall, including a $50,000 grand prize plus MacBook Pro laptops, and travel support for multiple winners in its Fall Sweepstakes, live now until December 15, 2019. The company aims to help college students pay off their student loans, study more efficiently with a new MacBook, and travel the world to expand their global perspective. For more details, visit https://students.coursehero.com/fall-sweepstakes.

About Course Hero
Course Hero is an online learning platform where members can access over 30 million course-specific study resources contributed by a community of students and educators. The platform includes practice problems, study guides, videos, class notes, and step-by-step explanations to help with every college class—from mathematics to literature, biology to history, accounting to psychology, and everything in between. Course Hero has been recognized as one of the 2018 Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte and named a 2019 Great Place to Work.

For more information, contact:
Grayling PR for Course Hero
[email protected]

SOURCE Course Hero