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"You can always climb road blocks:" Persistence pays off for UWM graduate

Student maxed out on student loans.
Posted at 7:46 AM, May 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-22 08:46:33-04
MILWAUKEE -- Sunday was graduation day for thousands of college students in Milwaukee. 
 
Among the 3,400 UW-Milwaukee graduates, one student shared her seven-year journey to get to graduation day.
 
Katrina Hightower tells TODAY'S TMJ4 she lost all hope when she maxed out on student loans.
 
"My way was understanding that right now there's a road block, but you can always climb road blocks, around or over it," said Katrina Hightower, Graduating From UW-Milwaukee with an information technology degree.
She tells us she worked for the post office as she waited to qualify for more loans as an independent student.
 
When that happened, she tell us she seized every opportunity. One of them was being selected to go to New York through Kohl's and learn about innovation. The Wisconsin-based company liked her ideas so much, she got a job offer in march as a full-time software engineer.
 
Katrina tells us she now has a five-year plan to pay all of her loans off.
 
Marquette University also held its 136th commencement Sunday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
 
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