Latonya Young, a 44-year-old single mother of three, received a bachelor’s degree last week. It was a lifelong goal — and she credits one of her Uber passengers with making it possible.
She met the passenger three years ago when she pulled over in downtown Atlanta to pick him up.
Kevin Esch was that passenger.
During the half-hour ride to Esch’s home, he learned that Young, who had been an Uber driver for three years, was working late that night because she needed money to pay a utility bill.
And he learned something else: Young wanted to be the first member of her family to graduate from college. Although Young started taking classes at Georgia State University in 2010, she dropped out a year later because she couldn’t pay the tuition.
Once they arrived at his home, Esch, an estate manager, tipped Young $150 — enough to cover the utility bill — and gave her his phone number if she ever wanted advice.
But a few weeks later, when Young tried to re-enroll at Georgia State, she was told that she wasn’t permitted to register until her balance from eight years earlier was paid in full. She owed $693 — a sum she couldn’t afford.
When she told Esch about the financial hold, he immediately went to the university, without Young’s knowledge, and paid off her debt.
She vowed to pay him back, but his response was: “Pay me back by graduating.”