Myrna Figueroa's NegReg Comments | Blog
The following is a transcript from the Department of Education's Negotiated Rulemaking session on January 18, 2022. During the public comment period, students are encouraged to share their comments on their experiences. Here is Myrna's story.
Hello, My name is Myrna Figueroa. I am a disabled veteran and I was robbed by Walden University. I am calling into today because even though I was able to get my loans discharge through disability for my federal loans, I do not feel like justice has been served. Walden lied to me, took advantage of me, left me with nothing and the Department of Education – instead of stopping scams -- are forcing taxpayers to pay for it. And that is wrong. In fact, it’s criminal.
When I enrolled at Walden my mom had just died of cancer. I remember being promised my PhD degree in 3 years if I could go fast enough. I trusted Walden who marketed themselves as a “social change school.” How could a school focused on social change be a scam? It took me until the end of the program to realize what was going on – and I had already invested so much money AND time. I will never get back the pride I felt in pursing this degree. I went back to school because I wanted to get off disability and Walden stole this dream from me. I had trust issues from my experiences being a Veteran and I felt like they took advantage of my situation throughout my entire time there. The worst part has been the humiliation. I am a single mom, I wanted to be able to rely on myself and support my son. I remember telling my son during hard times, “don’t worry, mom is going to be a doctor. We’re going to be able to take that trip, things are going to get better.” How do I explain that I was lied to and scammed to a little kid – it was embarrassing for me. There is no way to get my time, my hard work, my hope and my pride back. This was robbed of me by Walden University and unfortunately even a loan discharge doesn’t make it right.
So yes, I got a loan discharge. I have the situation many are hoping for! But it’s not enough. The Department has a responsibility to stop schools from preying on hopes of dreams and holding schools responsible. If you want these loans paid, go charge Walden. They’re the ones who got away with it.