LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Forty million dollars is quite the graduation present, so when Robert Smith told the Morehouse College graduating class of 2019 that he was paying off all of their student loans, it made people across the country aware.

“Go home, for me, [Tuesday night], that’s probably when I was moved the most, “said Evan Howard,” because it really hit me that I’m coming home with my degree. “

Howard returned to Little Rock as a proud college graduate who wouldn’t have to worry about paying for his degree. He was one of 396 graduates who were fortunate enough to receive Smith’s token of generosity.

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“It didn’t really touch me personally,” Howard said, “until it was all over, and until I really thought about what this blessing, what his gift could really do for. me and my other Morehouse brothers. “

Howard said he and many of his classmates were exhausted when Sunday morning’s opening ceremony finally began. After classes ended, he said he and his friends tried to celebrate their impending graduation as much as possible. Then Morehouse gave them a busy weekend of rehearsals and events before the big day.

“We had arrived at school at 5:30 am, so we had already been in the sun for probably three or four hours before Mr. Smith got up and spoke,” Howard recalls. He said he and several other students left the stadium floor to fetch water from the hall.

“And it just so happens that when I sat down, that’s when he ended up saying, you know, your student loans will be paid off,” Howard said.

“And at that point – sitting there, worried about the heat, tired from the start of the day – I wasn’t really, what he said didn’t really mark me at first.

“And it wasn’t recorded until my mom called me. And basically she asked, “Did you hear what he just said?” And my response to her was, ‘I hear what he said, but wait a sec.’ And I ended up patting the brother on my left and the brother on my right and asking them if they heard the same thing too. And it turns out, you know what I’m saying, they did. And I ended up picking up the phone with my mom and letting her know, basically saying, ‘Mom, you’re not crazy. He said that. I’ll shut up and listen if he has anything else to give! ‘ “

Smith’s speech and announcement took place near the start of the ceremony.

Hours later, after walking through the stage with his classmates, Howard saw snippets of the speech on outlets such as TMZ and began to understand how magnificent Smith’s promise was.

“I don’t know when I will fully understand all of what Mr. Smith has been able to do for us,” he added.

Howard said college was a tough time in his life. He enrolled at Morehouse because he wanted to be a cardiologist, and Morehouse had a reputation as one of the best schools for black men who wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

But what he would describe only as a personal incident took him away from school.

“My sanity took a hit,” he said, “but what basically kept me going – or, what made me persevere – was the fact that I came from here. And not so much that I don’t want to come back, but I want to have something to say for my departure. And so, for me to go through everything I’ve been through and come home, I felt like it would be quitting. And I wasn’t raised to quit.

“And I’m just so lucky and blessed that it’s the blessing at the end of the tunnel.” Not just getting my degree, but paying off my loans. And, like I said, for that I’m eternally grateful.

The time spent also changed Howard’s academic orientation. “I got really interested in the mental health of African American men, so I changed my major to psychology,” he said.

Howard wouldn’t say how much student loan debt he owed except to call it “a lot”. Federal data shows that typical Morehouse graduates walk away with $ 26,000 in student loans, but some experts believe the number could be closer to $ 100,000 each.

This puts the value of Smith’s promise between $ 10 million and $ 40 million.

“No one has ever done something like this before,” Howard noted. “Already. And the fact that he did it for us, and I guess he took it upon himself to be, to, to say that I will be the man to do it, that takes a huge initiative.

Howard said he believed the gift was a way to empower black men who have the potential to become leaders. “I feel like the challenge he gave us was that you already knew you were all going to be great,” he said. “Now you all have the flexibility and the financial capacity to be great the way you want to be great. “

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The ad grabbed headlines across the country, bringing Morehouse College a level of attention it may never have received before, and Howard knows the attention could follow his graduates for years to come. future.

“[There] was still under pressure, ”he said. I have the impression to attend Morehouse, alone, it is a pressure in itself. And there is pressure to be successful. And at the end of the day, I feel like yeah, there’s pressure, but it’s good pressure. Because at the end of the day, pressure makes diamonds, and after that, there’s no reason that no one in this class has a reason not to shine.

“And that’s why I feel like, like I said, there’s pressure, but it’s really good pressure because we’re under pressure to show the world that his gift is was not in vain. And, I would say, the caveat, or the good part about it, is that every single one of the men that’s been through this scene has got him to shine. If not as brilliant as the man who gave us this gift, 10 times brighter.

Howard said on Wednesday he was thrilled to realize Smith’s vision to make the world a better place. “But not just paying next in a generic way,” he explained, “but paying next in a way you think is appropriate and that makes you – I don’t mean makes you happy – but it has all your heart the way that is there.

Howard’s heart is to improve mental health care for black men. He said he wanted to pursue a career as a forensic psychologist.

He thinks it will mean higher education, but he knows it will be much easier to pay since he doesn’t have to pay for his bachelor’s degree.