Daniel B: Master’s Degrees Are Expected While Student Loans Pile Up

Daniel Bertram works in the greater St. Louis area as a dance, P.E. and health teacher.

“This is my 4th full time year there and I love students. I love kids being successful in whatever they do and I love helping them develop their passions.”

He successfully completed his undergraduate degree without taking out loans. However, for his teaching profession, he had to pursue a Master’s degree and was forced to take out student loans.

“I had no idea what I was signing up for. I just knew I needed adequate funds to get into school ASAP. I had no idea of what I would owe or how long it would take. I’m now going for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). But this has been only one year out of grad school so far.”

Daniel met Savi through our partnership with NEA Member Benefits. He thought, “Why not give them a call because the worst thing to happen is I learn a bit about my student loan.”

“When we communicate, they’re [Savi] able to make my student loans seem a little less overwhelming. Everyone I’ve spoken with has been amazing. I really like the dashboard to see my qualifying payments and to see when they were posted. The people I’ve spoken with have helped me figure out the BEST plan for me.”

Navigating student loan debt has been daunting for Daniel.

“It was really helpful to have Savi to help me understand what I’ve gotten into and the most direct path to get out of it.”

Educators that are members of the National Education Association (NEA) can also take advantage of Savi as a member benefit available to them by visiting neamb.com/savi.