Stay Work Play Announces Student Loan Repayment Program

New Hampshire is known for providing an excellent college education although college graduates here face the highest student loan debt (on average) in the country. Stay Work Play, a non-profit devoted to keeping college grads in NH, has launched a Challenge Grant incentive program with NH employers who agree to contribute $8,000 toward college loans for newly hired graduates over the first four years of employment.
 
The most essential business challenge is attracting and retaining the best talent, said Gray Chynoweth, COO at Dyn, an internet infrastructure business in Manchester. Typically New Hampshire businesses are put at a disadvantage because of the generally lower wages as opposed to metropolitan areas and the large amount of debt New Hampshire students tend to come out of school with. This program helps New Hampshire businesses compete for talent. Companies that don't take advantage of this are missing a real opportunity.
 
The Stay Work Play Challenge Grant incentive program is open to any company that employs individuals working in NH in an entry-level position. To be eligible, a student must be a graduate of a NH college or university within the past 18 months. Incentive awards are phased incrementally over four years totaling $8,000.
 
For more information or to become a participating organization, visit www.stayworkplay.org/challengegrant.
 
Partial support for this program is provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation, award # EPS 1101245.