Millions of Americans are saddled with thousands of dollars of student loan debt. But some never received their degrees, were scammed by a for-profit college, or should have never received a loan in the first place.
At the end of the August, Americans with student loan debt will resume payments.
WUSF is bringing you the stories of some Tampa Bay residents whose lives have been shaped by their student loan debt.
We here more from a Hillsborough County resident who recently had his student loans discharged
Michael Odom had been living abroad for many years – but when his mother got sick, he decided to move to Tampa to take care of her.
Once there, he decided to pursue a technical career — so he enrolled in medical billing and coding school at what was then Florida Metropolitan University, where he took out slightly less than 20 thousand dollars in student loans.
“I figured that was a perfect time for me to be back in the country to get some technical training, because at one point, my caregiving duties would be over and then I would stand there, having to move forward in my life.”
The school ended up being a scam — part of the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges network. Odom took classes for a few months, then decided to leave.
“The place functioned at a 10th grade high school level, the infrastructure was falling apart, they moved us from a converted commercial building to a retail building,” he said. “You know, sometimes you could hear the…
