Matthew Cecil on April 22, 2022, stands outside Horace Mann Insurance, 662 E. Main St., Hermiston. Cecil said he has been able to help several people manage their student loans.

Matthew Cecil said he is helping free people from student loan debt.

He is a licensed insurance producer with Horace Mann Insurance Company, 662 E. Main St., Hermiston.

“We work primarily with educators,” he said. “We have a service called ‘Student Loan Solutions.’ What it provides is a way for the educators to obtain student loan forgiveness through federal programs that are available.”

He said he will sit down with a client for an assessment, going over the size of the debt, the types of loans and determine eligibility for forgiveness. Then, he will assist with paperwork.

If he is not able to get the loan totally forgiven, he said he can often get a portion forgiven or payments reduced.

That consultation is free, he said, and he can help other public service employees, too. If a person works for a governmental employer or a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt employer, they can qualify. Other employees of not-for-profit organizations also may be helped, he said.

He listed emergency management, military, public safety, law enforcement, public legal services, disability services, services for the elderly, public health, library services and other school-based services as professions covered by loan-forgiveness programs.

“I currently have 249 active clients from the Northwest,” Cecil said.

He added he has 506 records, including people who have expressed interest in the program and around 52 who were declined because of ineligibility. He has helped 50 people to date, he said.

And those 50 have had a total of nearly $1.4 million forgiven.

He called student loan “a burden” for many people, and he is thankful he was able to pay for his own schooling without such an albatross.

“Unfortunately, with the structure of their careers, (educators and other public servants) have to pursue higher education and get that degree to be certified, so it’s required for them,” he said. “A lot of them go back for their masters, but then they’re saddled with student loan debt.”

Increasing interest, forbearance, life problems and more can complicate a person’s situation and make the end of debt seem impossible.

“I’ve heard all kinds of stories, whether it’s a small amount or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and (borrowers) are not going to be able to pay (the loans) on their own,” he said.

Cecil spoke of a few stories from people he has helped. He shared the written testimonial of one Umatilla educator who said he had $110,000 before Cecil could help him. This educator, according to the testimonial, started an income-based repayment plan with lower payments. He also got $65,000 worth of student loan debt forgiven.

“I still have $40,000 that I still need to pay on, and some of those payments have been counted toward forgiveness. Thirty-nine more payments and I’ll be done,” he said, according to the testimonial.

A second written testimonial told of how another educator, from Walla Walla, was able to reduce his loan by more than $10,000. He, too, expressed gratitude to Cecil for his work.

Cecil stated this sort of help, assisting people at no cost to them, makes sense from a business standpoint. By helping people with their student loans, he is attracting potential customers. Also, he is better serving his existing customers.

His agency sells auto, home, life and other forms of insurance.

In addition to being good for his company’s bottom line, helping people cancel their student debt is personally satisfying, Cecil said.

“The looks on people’s faces are worth it alone,” he said. “Helping people is something I really like to do.”