Bellarmine student wins national loan forgiveness giveaway

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's a college student's dream come true: student loans completely wiped out and forgotten.

That's now a reality for one Bellarmine University junior, who won a national competition.

Katie Tressel is the winner of SmarterBank's $25,000 Crush Student Debt sweepstakes.

The prize will pay off students loans from her freshman, sophomore and most of her junior year.

And Tressel says that really helps her future plans.

"I want to go to grad school, but I was facing a lot of debt whenever I was going to leave Bellarmine, and I figured you know, I may have put off grad school a few years in order to collect more money, but now that I have all this money towards my student loans I really wouldn't have to put off grad school and I can go right after I graduate from here," Tressel says.

Tressel is majoring in psychology and music and hopes to go into music therapy for children.