During the Wilson College of Textiles graduation ceremony, graduates were surprised with a gift: coverage of all educational loans for the 25-26 school year.
In his commencement speech, Anil Kochhar announced he and his wife would be covering payment of all education loans for the 25-26 school year taken by graduates. Kochhar dedicated the gift to his father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, an alumnus of the Wilson College of Textiles.
“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,” Kochhar said.
The Kochhar’s worked with David Hinks, the inaugural Prakash Chand Kochhar Dean at Wilson College of Textiles, to facilitate giving the gift.
The announcement was met with a roar of applause and excitement from graduates and the crowd.
Kochhar’s father arrived at NC State in 1946 to further his textiles education. Prakash Chand Kochhar earned his bachelor’s degree in textile manufacturing in 1950 and his master’s degree in 1952. Kochhar said that his father received not only an education, but an opportunity to build a legacy helping others for years to come.
“Eighty years ago, a young man traveled thousands of miles from India to Raleigh with little more than hope and determination. He could not have known where that journey would lead. He could not have imagined the life it would create,” Kochhar said.
Kochhar said his father was just the second Indian student to attend the college, but remarked that he was welcomed with open arms.
“He arrived in a country far from home, at a time very different from today, but he was welcomed with open arms,” Kochhar said. “They said Prakash, we’re glad you’re here.”
This is not the first gift Kochhar and his wife have given the University. In March of this year Kochhar and his wife donated the funds to create three new endowments in honor of his father.
Those gifts supported the college’s dean, faculty and graduate students.
Kochhar said their goal is making the Wilson College of Textiles more affordable for all, starting with this gift.
“It is our intent to make Wilson College more affordable for all, starting with this graduation class,” Kochhar said.
Before announcing the gift, Kochhar talked about how the path each graduate embarks on opens doors for themselves and others, using his fathers legacy as an example.
“Just as my father’s journey, the paths you begin today may open doors for those not just you, but for people you may never meet, for families, communities and generations. So as you step forward, carry that with you, built today. Also generously create not just success, but impact,” Kochhar said. “Take the opportunities you have been given and pay it forward to others that you meet on the journey, because one day, years from now, someone will be standing where you are and their story will begin with something you chose to build for them.”
Kochhar said that allowing students to graduate without the weight of student loan debt will give them greater freedom in their future to do more for themselves and others.
“My wife and I, hope as you leave Reynolds, we have unshackled some of that [debt] so you can go out with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks, build lives and work so hard to achieve,” Kochhar said.
