What started as a standard graduation ceremony at North Carolina State University ended with a surprise that left students cheering.
Students at NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles were attending commencement on May 8 when keynote speaker Anil Kochhar announced that he and his wife, Marilyn, would cover all final-year education loans incurred by Wilson College graduates during the 2025-26 academic year.
“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.
The graduating class included 176 students earning bachelor’s degrees and 26 receiving master’s degrees.
Kochhar’s father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, traveled from Punjab, India, to Raleigh in 1946 to study textile manufacturing at NC State. He later earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the university in the early 1950s.
According to the announcement at the ceremony, the gift was made in honor of Prakash Chand Kochhar.
“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.
