03-05-2025
Most students at Paul Quinn College graduate with little to no debt. Here's why
The Brief
Paul Quinn College in Dallas has been recognized nationally as the first urban work college, integrating students as interns with local businesses that pay them.
That, coupled with grants, helps most students graduate with little to no debt.
Some students also cross the stage with multiple job offers or continuing education opportunities waiting for them.
DALLAS - Several graduates at Paul Quinn College in Oak Cliff will cross the stage debt-free.
The college has gotten national acclaim for its innovative education model that helps students graduate with very little to no debt.
What we know
Paul Quinn College may be a small school, but it's providing students with big opportunities.
It's recognized nationally as the first urban work college, which integrates students as interns with local businesses that pay them.
That salary, coupled with grants, means some graduates have zero debt.
Others have far less debt than many coming out of college.
Local perspective
Chondra Espino is an El Paso native who transferred to the private Paul Quinn College after her freshman year at a public university.
Playing soccer for the Tigers, she said it was the opportunity to gain work experience through the school's corporate work program that made a difference in her life.
"My internships were the Container Store. I worked at the headquarters of the Container Store and then I worked at the 3to1 Foundation. It's an affiliate to Cain Watters and Associates. Then got a full-time offer with Cain Watters, and I'll be starting with them full time graduation day," she said.
Espino is the first in her family to go to college.
"It's a lot of emotions to feel. And my parents did not graduate high school as it is. So me graduating high school and now graduating college, it's just like I'm changing our generation," she said.
She'll move on to TWU for a master's in accounting while working full time.
Local perspective
Ericka Drinker is this year's valedictorian.
She's a Dallas native who calls her four years at Paul Quinn College transformative.
"I've truly changed as a person. I walk into a room and know I belong there. I've been in the room with like the president of the United States, and I did not second-guess myself. I know that I worked hard and earned my spot there. And I would not have ever felt that way without the Quinn," she said.
Drinker got to meet President Joe Biden at the White House's National HBCU Week Conference.
"I got to shake his hand and it was just amazing to meet the leader of the world," she said.
Drinker was accepted to Columbia University for a master's in the technology program.
She decided to put that on hold for now and is negotiating two job offers at JP Morgan Chase and a venture capital fund option.
The Source
FOX 4's Shaun Rabb talked to Chondra Espino, Ericka Drinker, and Paul Quinn College representatives to gather information for this story.
