Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
  • News414
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / News / Education / A Milwaukee man explains how his college debt spiraled out of control — and how to avoid a similar fate

A Milwaukee man explains how his college debt spiraled out of control — and how to avoid a similar fate

May 27, 2021 by Dee J. Hall (Wisconsin Watch) 1 Comment

After we published the story about how many Black Wisconsin residents struggle with high student loan debt, several readers had questions about how the debt for Clint Myrick, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum, was able to reach $152,039.

Some questioned whether Myrick took steps to save and earn money. Did he live at home? Did he work during the summer? Why didn’t he use his diploma in music education to get a teaching job?

Clint Myrick is seen at his home in Milwaukee on May 10, 2021. Myrick graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2010 with a student loan debt that has since ballooned to over $150,000. Myrick said he understands why so many students take out loans without necessarily knowing how to pay them back. “They sell you on the dream. ‘Just take out the loans, and you’ll get a job where you’ll be able to pay that stuff back!’ You really believe it,” Myrick says. “They sell you on the dream. ‘Just take out the loans, and you’ll get a job where you’ll be able to pay that stuff back!’ You really believe it,” Myrick said. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)

 

According to Myrick, the full backstory is complicated. A talented trumpet player, Myrick says he was naive about both the cost of college and his ability to put his degree to work after graduation. By the time he started college, Myrick already had child support to pay for his son. He spent weekends caring for him, cutting into the time he could work to earn money. Myrick switched majors several times, taking five years to graduate. Myrick’s family was in no position to help financially, he says.



“I was a poor college student like many others,” says Myrick, who graduated in 2010. “I was very active in campus life, which helped balance out the pressures of the real life issues, but it wears you down and eventually grades slip towards the end.”

As his grade point average plunged, Myrick lost his financial aid. When he graduated, he felt he couldn’t afford to spend a year as a student teacher without pay, so he never earned his teaching certificate.

Like many college graduates struggling to find a good job, Myrick took an internship, which inspired him to go to graduate school at UW-Milwaukee. Throughout that time, he worked for a catering company, but more debt piled up — for tuition, rent, meals and other living expenses.

“I dropped out of grad school due to stress, was late turning in final papers, but I realized somewhere that I didn’t want to be an educator anymore and wanted a change. So I had undergraduate debt, grad debt, and no major job,” Myrick says.

He says he was unable to afford payments for several years, and the debt grew “out of control.” Myrick recalls feeling “really depressed” on his 25th birthday “because I felt I haven’t accomplished anything and I’ve done so many wrong things while trying to do right.”

“My college experience was fun, exciting and I took everything I could from it,” Myrick says. “I acquired lifelong friends, joined a fraternity, relationships with administrators, played rec basketball and took some of my first trips during college. The experience was worth it — but the penalty for debt afterwards, I haven’t figured out yet how to pay it back.”

Myrick hopes his story serves as a warning to students tempted to take on unsustainable levels of debt — and against neglecting their grades, especially if they plan to go to grad school. A father of three, Myrick now works three jobs to support his family and pay back his loans. He has gotten offers of financial help from readers moved by his story. Despite some qualms, he set up a GoFundMe page.

“I desperately need the help for anyone willing to give it. However, I would feel survivor’s remorse for getting the help and many others with the same situation hadn’t gotten any help like me,” he says.

“I don’t want anyone else to go through these struggles,” Myrick adds. “Life could be and could’ve been much easier.”

This article first appeared on WisconsinWatch.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Filed Under: Education, Neighborhoods

About Dee J. Hall (Wisconsin Watch)

Comments

  1. Janet Smith says

    September 11, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    It was your choice to take out these loans. If you were struggling, why did you have 3 children? I don’t understand how you didn’t think about how you were going to pay these loans. When you take a loan for any major purchase, you don’t realize that it has to be paid back!?! Unfortunately, you’re not alone with the decision to take our student loans. But it was the choice of the borrower.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

NNS Spotlight: How Serenity Inns is expanding to serve men struggling with addiction

The city is pushing for more oversight of the Housing Authority. Here’s what you need to know.

PHOTOS: “Master Chef Challenge: Family Edition” at Milwaukee Public Library’s Mitchell Street Branch

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in