Bayside Resident Scores Student Loan Payoff in National Contest

A Bayside 24-year-old can breathe a little easier thanks to winning a national contest that scored her a student loan payoff.

Ashley Waltho was named this month among five winners of the "Pays to Repay" contest, a collaborative initiative between saving, planning, and paying for college company, Sallie Mae, and educator turned hip-hop artist, Dee-1. The program rewarded customers who creatively described how paying for college had a positive effect on their future. Each had his or her eligible Sallie Mae student loan paid off by the company.

“I’ve traveled the country with Sallie Mae educating high school students and handing out scholarships, and now we’ve taken it a step further with this contest to help people feel that joy of paying off their student loans,” Dee-1 said, in a news release. “That feeling, that experience, inspired me to write 'Sallie Mae Back' and kicked off this incredible partnership, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it inspires these very deserving individuals.”

Waltho recently earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health care administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After growing up in a household with 12 siblings, she proudly became the first female in her family to graduate from college, and was able to do so while working.

“From being first in their family to attend college, to taking an entrepreneurial leap, to helping others, our contest winners are shining examples of the value of a higher education,” Martha Holler, senior vice president for Sallie Mae, said in the release.

Waltho is already putting the skills she learned in college to good use. She currently serves as an executive director at a skilled nursing facility, according to a news release.

“Like Dee-1, these inspiring individuals offer their perspectives on how college has changed their lives and, what’s more, they are using their degrees to pay it forward," Holler said. "We are thrilled to partner with Dee not only to pay off their student loans, but also to share their stories.”

All selected based on their entries' concept, style, originality and creativity, other winners included Julia Brockway-Marchello, of New York, New York; Haley McIngvale, of Pontotoc, Mississippi; Jose Lopez, of Corona, California; and Cynthia Osemwegie, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Visit the contest website for more information.

Photo courtesy of Sallie Mae.