WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A student at Winston-Salem State recently learned her loan debt will be paid off after graduation, thanks to the help of celebrity Nick Cannon.
What You Need To Know
Nick Cannon surprised a group of HBCU students on his talk show, telling them that their student loan debt will be cleared after graduation
Sharandica “Shae” Midcalf, a senior at Winston-Salem State, says she no longer owes $35,000
Midcalf was homeless when she was younger and said a high school counselor told her that her GPA was too low to attend college
Sharandica “Shae” Midcalf appeared as a guest along with six other HBCU students on Cannon’s talk show.
Midcalf talked about the struggles she overcame to attend college. She remembers living in a one-bedroom apartment with her mom and five siblings.
“Eventually we ended up being evicted, and my mom told me I was going to stay with my aunt and uncle for just two weeks and she’ll come back and get me, because she was on the way to the homeless shelter,” Midcalf said. “And time moved on, and she never came back to get me.”
Midcalf says she stayed at her aunt and uncle’s place and enrolled in a new high school. She dreamt of being a first-generation student at WSSU, but her guidance counselor told her otherwise.
“She looked up the requirement for WSSU, and she looked at me in my face and said 'you’re not going, it’s not happening,'” Midcalf said.
Midcalf transferred to another high school and continued to work on raising her GPA. She recalls a moment during her senior year.
“Everyone was in the library for college application day, and I remember running out … because I was so heartbroken that I wasn’t going to college, and all these people were so excited,” Midcalf said. “And a teacher came after me and held me in her arms and said 'you’re going to college. I’ll fight for you.'”
Midcalf says the teacher ended up writing her a letter of recommendation, and she eventually got accepted to Bennett College in Greensboro. She then transferred to WSSU.
“Just being in this moment, I feel honored,” Midcalf said as she walked around campus. “I’m sad and happy … a big ball of emotions, but I’m grateful, and I’m proud of myself.”
Midcalf’s inspiring story caught the attention of Cannon’s producers after she wrote to them about a time he inspired her when they met at a taping of his show “Wild 'n’ Out.”
“I told him I was going to be on his show one day,” Midcalf said.
Cannon’s producers flew Midcalf to New York City to be part of the segment with other HBCU students from across the country. In a surprise announcement, Midcalf learned she no longer owed $35,000 in student loans.
“Now, I can focus on my dreams and my aspirations,” Midcalf said.
The debt relief is being provided through a scholarship in partnership with the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, according to Cannon’s announcement.
Midcalf is also working on a speech titled “The Ruby in the Rough,” which she hopes to deliver during a commencement ceremony at her former high school in May.
“I want to be able to say the ruby in the rough is here,” Midcalf said. “You are all rubies, and we’re all dusting off our jewels one step at a time.”
After graduation, Midcalf says she plans to get a Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling to help the next generation of sign language or hearing-impaired students.
Two other HBCU students from North Carolina were surprised on Nick Cannon’s talk show: Mackenzie Estrep, a senior at St. Augustine’s in Raleigh and Christian Kornegay from N.C. A&T in Greensboro.