WILBERFORCE, Ohio (WCMH) — At the end of Saturday’s commencement ceremony, Wilberforce University announced it was sending its new alumni into the world without college debt.

Wilberforce University President Elfred Anthony Pinkard said the graduates’ debt and other debt owed to the university by students from 2020 and 2021 now carries a zero balance.

The university said it was able to do this due to various scholarship like the United Negro College Fund, Inc., Jack and Jill, Inc., and other funding.

“I couldn’t believe it when he said it,” said 2021 graduate Rodman Allen in a statement released by the school. “It’s a blessing. I know God will be with me. I’m not worried. I can use that money and invest into my future.”

According to the university, the amount of cleared debt is more than $375,000.

Wilberforce University, a four-year accredited liberal arts university, is the country’s oldest private, historically Black university located in southwestern Ohio.