Lauren Pesci, of Butler, considers herself lucky to have graduated from Clarion University with minimal student-loan debt in her wake. After her 2013 graduation, it took her seven years to pay off nearly $50,000 of debt.

Though she cannot partake of the student loan forgiveness plan the Biden administration announced last week, she is happy others will have relief.

“I think it’s great. I have tons of friends who are super in debt, and I want to see their lives improved,” she said.

On Wednesday, Aug. 24, President Joe Biden announced student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 for the nation’s qualified students past and present. Some county residents who have graduated college will see the relief, while those such as Pesci just missed the cutoff, having paid their dues.

Students who received a federal Pell Grant will have up to $20,000 of debt forgiven, while individuals who earn less than $125,000 a year or less than $250,000 a year as a couple will have $10,000 of debt forgiven.

The plan also stated that the pause for student loan payments will end Dec. 31.

Pesci, an accountant, said paying her student loans caused issues in her budgeting early on.

“It was just my (debt), my husband had some, too. We got married and were not making a lot of money, (loans) were a huge chunk. I was spending hours studying how to budget. It took up a lot of my time,” she said.

Nikki Miller, of Butler, graduated from Butler County Community College in May. Through she accrued no debt from the institution, she still has $13,000 to pay off from her semester at University of Louisville in Kentucky in 2017.

She said she will receive the $10,000 relief and is curious how the forgiveness plan will work for future generations.

“My first reaction was definitely ‘how is this going to work?’ There’s no such thing as free money, so where’s it coming from,” she said. “I’m interested to see how this will develop down the road, are they going to continue helping people pay off loans? Is this just a temporary fix?”

She added that college tuition prices are very high and sees pros and cons in the forgiveness plan.

“When you get out of college and you’re trying to start your life, there’s a lot of pressure as you figure out if you’ll need more school and you’re trying to pay bills. It’s really overwhelming for people,” she said. “I was expecting to pay the $15,000 from the start, but in the end (the relief) is nice since I’m getting married next year. It will definitely benefit us.”

On Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that student loan forgiveness will not be taxed in Pennsylvania.

“My administration does not intend to burden these Pennsylvanians with a tax bill following this beneficial action,” he said of the plan. “Therefore, that relief will not be considered taxable income in Pennsylvania.”

Miller said when she first heard about student loan forgiveness, she was concerned that it would burden other taxpayers.

“A single mom who works two jobs as a waitress and doesn’t have a college degree shouldn’t have to pay for this. I was hoping in people in those situations wouldn’t have money coming out of their income tax to pay for something I chose,” she said. “I’m happy to find out that’s not the case.”