In the 1970s, with the success of classic Pink Floyd albums like "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973), "Wish You Were Here" (1975) and "The Wall" (1979), David Gilmour was already considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He always had a broad musical taste, something reflected in his versatility as a musician. Unlike many of his peers, he remained interested in new bands and musical styles that emerged over the decades. He revered artists like The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, but also praised bands such as Van Halen, something that became clear when he was a guest DJ for a day during a radio special (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) and listed some of his favorite songs of all time. That happened in 1984 while he was promoting his solo album "About Face," and before playing the tracks, he said: “We’re gonna be playing a whole bunch of groovy records from all sorts of strange, diverse people.” 6 songs David Gilmour picked as some of his favorites of all time Van Halen "Jump" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwYN7mTi6HM&pp=ygUQVmFuIEhhbGVuICJKdW1wIg%3D%3D "We gonna carry right on into a very esoteric little thing that probably none of you have heard. This is called 'Jump' by Van Halen and it's got a great guitar solo! A wild little track there from the boys," he said. David praised Eddie Van Halen many times, especially in the 1980s, and even said that, alongside Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, he was one of the guitarists influencing him during that decade. “These days I don’t listen to other people with the objective of trying to steal their licks. Although I’ve got no objections to stealing them if that seems like a good idea. I’m sure that I’m still influenced by Mark Knopfler and Eddie Van Halen as well.” “I can’t play like Eddie Van Halen, I wish I could. I sat down to try some of those ideas and I can’t do it. (But) I don’t know if I could ever get any of that stuff together. Sometimes I think I should work at the guitar more. I play every day but I don’t consciously practice scales or anything in particular,” David Gilmour told Guitar Classics magazine in 1985. Although he liked much of what Eddie Van Halen created in terms of guitar playing, Gilmour never tried to replicate it. As he told Guitar World in 1988, he didn't have the "fingers" for it.“I do like Eddie Van Halen’s playing a lot. Of course, I can’t do that at all. I don’t have the fingers for it,” he said. Jimi Hendrix "All Along the Watchtower" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY&pp=ygUnSmltaSBIZW5kcml4ICJBbGwgQWxvbmcgdGhlIFdhdGNodG93ZXIi "The next record is a Bob Dylan tune done by Jimi Hendrix 'All Along the Watchtower', (it's got a) wild guitar this one," he said. Curiously, David had been a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix even before he became famous as Jimi Hendrix. He first had the chance to see him playing as a touring musician with Brian Auger and the Trinity. “Jimi Hendrix, fantastic. I went to a club in south Kensington in 1966. This kid got on stage with Brian Auger and the Trinity. (He started to play) the guitar with the other way around (upside down) and started playing. Myself and the whole place was with their jaws hanging open.” “I went to the next day to record shops. I said ‘You’ve got anything by this guy Jimi Hendrix?’ They said ‘Well, we’ve got a James Hendrix’. He hadn’t yet done anything. So I became rather an avid fan waiting for his first release,” David Gilmour said on “Tracks Of My Years” in 2006 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). The Pink Floyd guitarist and singer had already revealed that his favorite Hendrix album is "Electric Ladyland", released in 1968. Besides "All Along the Watchtower, that album also had classics like “Crosstown Traffic”, Voodoo Chile”, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. Gilmour had the chance to pay tribute to Jimi in 1991, during the Live Amnesty International’s Big 30 show, where he played "Hey Joe" with Seal on vocals. Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwOfCgkyEj0&pp=ygUgQm9iIER5bGFuICJMaWtlIGEgUm9sbGluZyBTdG9uZSI%3D "This sort of (list) wouldn't be complete without a Bob Dylan track and here is one. Probably my favorite... maybe not, but probably. This one is 'Like a Rolling Stone,'" he said. Dylan has always been one of Gilmour’s biggest heroes, and he first had the chance to hear his music when his parents, who were living in the United States, sent him a few records. “I got Bob Dylan’s first record for my 16th birthday. They (his parents) sent me from Greenwich Village (New York). Before that they sent me the Peter Seeger’s guitar tutor record, which is my only actual instruction (To play guitar). (It) was with Peter Seeger’s guitar tutor record,” David Gilmour told BBC Two in 2015 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). He has always mentioned Dylan as one of the musicians he admires the most, and unlike many fans from the early days of his career, he was never angry at Bob for “going electric.” “To me, I was never one of the people who thought Dylan was a monster for going electric. I liked the change. But I must say the power of the young Dylan as the acoustic-playing protest singer- which he’s always denied. But sorry Bob, you were a protest singer.” “Just to get his guitar and play to a crowd of people and it’s like an arrow. His words come out and the music. People underestimate his actual musical abilities. And the melodies and the words just shoot out like an arrow. I think he was unbelievable. And is,” David Gilmour said in an interview with The Guardian. The Beatles "Across the Universe" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfVOmE1yoRo&pp=ygUhVGhlIEJlYXRsZXMgIkFjcm9zcyB0aGUgVW5pdmVyc2Ui "This one is one of my all-time Beatles favorites, this one is called 'Across the Universe'. (The song was) written by old John (Lennon)," he said. Although David was part of Pink Floyd, one of the most successful and influential bands of all time, when asked once which band he would have liked to have been part of, he mentioned The Beatles. Like most Rock fans and aspiring musicians from his generation, he was an avid fan of the Fab Four. He did have the chance to become a “member” of the band for one night in 1999, when he played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool with Paul McCartney. He is a good friend of Paul’s and has played on many tracks from the musician’s solo career. In 1979 he played in The Wings single "Rockestra Theme" and then on the album "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" (1984). He would be part of Paul's albums "Flowers In The Dirt" (1989) and "Run Devil Run" (1999). In an interview with French Guitarist magazine (Translated by Rock and Roll Garage) back in 2002, he praised McCartney. “He is a musician in the broadest sense of the word. He can play everything: bass, guitar, piano, drums. And on all these instruments, he has a very good level. We cannot therefore mystify him, he knows exactly what he wants. We owe him certain productions which were not of the greatest interest. But he definitely deserves the success and respect he enjoys,” David Gilmour said. Elvis Presley "Heartbreak Hotel" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9BLw4W5KU8&pp=ygUgRWx2aXMgUHJlc2xleSAiSGVhcnRicmVhayBIb3RlbCI%3D "The next one is Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley and I picked it because it's groovy. A snappy little tune, there". A couple of decades later, in 2006, when interviewed by BBC Radio, Gilmour once again mentioned the song, this time as one he would choose to take with him to a desert island. “‘Heartbreak Hotel’ as I said about ‘Waterloo Sunset’ is a perfect recording. It’s just so spare, so little going on but every nuance, every thing on it it’s absolutely affection. I got it when I was 10 years old in 1956. Also it was the second record I ever got. I’ve got it on a 78, I don’t know whatever happened to it.” “My first record was ‘Rock Around The Clock’, my babysitter sat on it and it smashed. But I don’t know what happened to ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. It’s just that place and the piano, just magic. Elvis was great for a few years, but for me it lost all the sparkle. If you ever see any of the old black and white bits of film from him performing at that time, they are absolutely electrifying, which I don’t find in the Las Vegas ones,” David Gilmour said. When Elvis Presley first appeared in the mainstream and became a success all over the world, besides the music, his stage presence on shows and TV programs was something that drew many fans to him. However, as Gilmour once explained, he was only able to see footage of Elvis many years after hearing his music because his family did not have a TV. David Gilmour said: "I didn't actually have television until at least 5 years after Elvis started. I can only remember listening to the records and listening to the Radio Luxembourg. (It was) a late sort of evening radio station beamed in from Europe that we could get in England. I can't remember ever seeing very much of it in its very early years or in my first few years of exposure to Rock and Roll." "(When I first heard 'Heartbreak Hotel', it was just wonderful, I wanted to be a part of it. (I didn't know why), ask 10 million other people who feel the same, you must know as well as I do. It's not something you can describe or explain, is it? I never felt rebellious about it or anything, I just liked it. It was good fun," he said in an interview in 1981 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Jackson Browne "Disco Apocalypse" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM8loQ9M4Dk&pp=ygUhSmFja3NvbiBCcm93bmUgIkRpc2NvIEFwb2NhbHlwc2Ui0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv "We're gonna move right along into a Jackson Browne song, one of my favorites. This one is called 'Disco Apocalypse" and it sounds we've got one upstairs (someone was making noise above the studio)," he said. The song was part of Jackson Browne’s sixth studio album, released in 1980. Even though it was not critically acclaimed, it was commercially successful, becoming the only one of his albums to reach number 1 on the Billboard chart. Besides the track mentioned by Gilmour, the record also featured songs like "That Girl Could Sing," "Boulevard," and "Hold On Hold Out."The post 6 songs David Gilmour picked as some of his favorites of all time appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The New York Times defended a column that alleged Israeli security forces rape Palestinian inmates, as Jewish groups announced they would protest outside the newspaper's Manhattan offices on Thursday over the "libels." But the Times did not immediately respond to a statement by former prime minister Ehud Olmert accusing columnist Nicholas Kristof of misrepresenting his words so that they appeared to validate the allegations in the Monday op-ed, "The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians." Israel had slammed the star journalist's column, calling it "one of the worst blood libels" in modern media and assailing its use of a report from an NGO whose leaders have been photographed alongside top Hamas officials.

Columnist Nicholas Kristof published an explosive report in the New York Times on Monday about Israel's alleged use of sexual violence against prisoners as "organized state policy." The piece makes several grave claims about conditions in Israeli prisons, including about the alleged use of trained dogs to rape prisoners. But media watchdogs have now raised questions about the integrity of the sourcing in the reported opinion column, which relies predominantly on claims from the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and several individuals with checkered backgrounds.

It's a simple proposition: Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape. Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu and many U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio, condemned that sexual violence, and Netanyahu rightly called on "all civilized leaders" to "speak up."

If it feels like everyone in public is wearing earbuds—Apple AirPods, specifically—that’s because the behavior is on the rise. In fact, the phenomenon has even been the subject of scientific inquiry, with one study out of the New Jersey School of Architecture examining people’s creation of “private sound environments” in busy urban spaces. People might choose to listen to calming music, a podcast, upbeat tunes, or even just silence or white noise. But it’s not the content causing debate—it’s the etiquette involved. There’s been no shortage of discourse around the use of AirPods in public, and one of the most hotly discussed places, fittingly enough, is also one of the most common: the grocery store. Some say wearing earbuds in the grocery store is antisocial A recent post on X with nearly nine million total views featured a number of strong opinions on both sides. The original poster claims to have stopped wearing AirPods at the grocery store because “it’s antisocial, doesn’t matter if everyone else is doing it, you have to start with yourself.” Another user replied that they had also recently quit: “I had the same realization recently. I used to fill every ’empty’ moment with podcasts, grocery shopping, jogging, gaming, even cooking, thinking I was being productive by multitasking. But instead of feeling smarter, my brain felt constantly overloaded with noise and information.” Others argued that wearing earbuds dramatically decreases social awareness and said people tuned into music or a podcast would frequently stand in their way or otherwise behave rudely due to their inattentiveness. Stopped wearing AirPods while grocery shopping because it’s antisocial, doesn’t matter if everyone else is doing it, you have to start with yourself. pic.twitter.com/JQxWFyp9by— slimzim (@jameszimmermann) May 9, 2026 In another X post, a user called wearing headphones in public a “dystopian tech trend” and worried that things would only get worse with AI-enhanced glasses, more engaging and addictive mobile apps, augmented reality experiences, and more. AirPods have only been out for 7 years, and the average person now defaults to throwing their headphones in as soon as they’re alone in public.Walk through the grocery store, everyone has their headphones in. Same with the gym, or just walking around town.This feels like a…— Jack Raines (@Jack_Raines) February 13, 2024 Psychology Today chimed in on the topic in 2022 with an article titled “Why Earbuds Are a Threat to Ourselves and Society.” In it, Jim Taylor, PhD, wrote: “When you are wearing earbuds, you are also sending a signal to others around you that you don’t want to be disturbed. And think about those spontaneous moments in your life when you met someone who became important to you (or you haven’t had those moments because you’re always plugged in). They happened because you were open to the world around you. With earbuds, you are creating a virtual wall that surrounds you and that doesn’t readily allow others into your world.” Psychologists weigh in The first generation of AirPods is about 10 years old now. Clinical thinking around their use has evolved quite a bit in that time. For example, Dr. Shannon Franklin, co-founder and director of clinical training at Element Q Healing Center, says that headphones in public aren’t antisocial—they’re a regulation strategy: “[It’s] not a rejection of connection. For folks who are neurodivergent, anxious, or highly sensitive to sensory input, a grocery store is genuinely overwhelming. The headphones aren’t saying ‘leave me alone,’ they’re saying ‘I need to manage this environment so I can function in it.’ There’s also just the reality that public space has gotten louder and more stimulating. People are protecting their attention and their nervous system.” @reindrrop and yes ill film in a store but the headphones made me nervous idk how to explain it #anxiety #appleairpodmax ♬ original sound – Reina Ilana Grines, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Daily Therapy Dose, agrees and challenges the stigma behind “closing yourself off.” “The stigma comes from this idea that we’re supposed to be available to strangers at all times and that being polite means staying open to whatever comes at you,” Grines said. “There’s a real difference between being antisocial and being intentional about where you spend your social energy. The person with earbuds in at the grocery store might be saving up that energy for a meaningful conversation with someone they actually care about later. That’s protective, and probably important to their overall wellbeing.” She calls wearing AirPods in public “the opposite of antisocial” and argues it demonstrates great self-awareness and social awareness. To take it a step further, women in particular have admitted to wearing earbuds more frequently in public to tune out and protect themselves from harassers and people who might pose a danger to them. Other people use headphones as a tool to help ward off pushy salespeople, volunteers seeking signatures on clipboards, and other contentious social interactions that can heighten anxiety. I don’t think people were meant to be bombarded with so much stimulus all the time. A grocery store with carts rattling, and the worst top 40 songs from the last 25 years blaring, all while bathed in fluorescent light, is a very unpleasant environment. If people need to listen to… https://t.co/awNYGQ2KaK— Cera Gibson (@CeraGibson) May 10, 2026 AirPods at the grocery store, and in other public spaces, is ultimately a gray area. There’s a fine line between using technology to self-regulate or protect your peace and slipping into a dystopian reality where we’re all too self-involved in our own little tech worlds to notice each other. The study out of the New Jersey School of Architecture actually found something interesting worth noting. The subjects observed enjoyed busy indoor spaces, like public transit or the grocery store, more when they had earbuds in. But they found far less enjoyment in nature, like public parks, than individuals who didn’t wear headphones. In other words, there’s a time and a place. It’s polite and respectful to look a cashier in the eye and engage with them human-to-human, not tune them out with headphones. And if you’re outside the grocery store and in the natural world, research has shown you’ll get much more out of the experience if you tune in to the sounds and sights around you. But it’s not antisocial to realize that you don’t owe anyone your time, and it’s OK if you need a little self-regulation to function in high-stimulation environments. It’s good timing that we finally have the tools to do it—and enjoy some awesome tunes at the same time. The post Is wearing earbuds in the grocery store antisocial? appeared first on Upworthy.

Lots of kids imagine their wedding day when they are little in all kinds of creative ways. But few have those childhood imaginings recorded, and even fewer have them unearthed on their actual wedding day. But one bride was surprised by just that at her own wedding reception, and in the absolute sweetest way. During the father-daughter dance, as the Beach Boys crooned out “God Only Knows,” suddenly a man’s voice came over the speaker. “Tell me about your wedding,” it said. A child’s voice responded: “My wedding is gonna have clowns dancing with the children, and a moon bounce, and face painting…when the brides all change into costumes, they go in the moon bounce.” @jordannrose1 I could not stop crying!! full backstory: my parents found a video from when I was 4 years old talking shout my future wedding, where I named my childhood friends as my bridesmaids that were in attendance, and said Max would be my husband…. While I didn’t meet Max until college it was kismet!! They edited that clip into our father daughter dance and totally surprised everyone including me!!! #fatherdaughterdance #wedding #bride #2026bride #2026wedding @absocialstudio ♬ original sound – jordan The child was Jordan, the bride, at four years old, and the man’s voice was her dad. “Who are the brides gonna be?” preschooler Jordan’s dad asked. “The brides are gonna be silly princesses,” Jordan responded. She said they would be named Gracie, Rachel, Kelly (or Ketti?), and Sarah. “And what about the princes?” her dad asked. “Who are the princes going to be?” “Oh, you mean all the boys?” little Jordan asked. “They’re gonna be silly superheroes!” Little girl dressed up for a wedding. Photo credit: Canva But when Dad asked who they were, no one expected her little voice to cry out, “Max! Max! Max!” Max, Jordan’s real-life adult groom, who was listening to all of this, was gobsmacked—as in full-on, wide-eyed, jaw-to-the-floor shocked. Jordan herself was blown away. “No way!” Max said. “No way. No way!” Jordan wrote the backstory in the TikTok caption: “My parents found a video from when I was 4 years old talking about my future wedding, where I named my childhood friends as my bridesmaids that were in attendance, and said Max would be my husband…. While I didn’t meet Max until college it was kismet!! They edited that clip into our father-daughter dance and totally surprised everyone including me!!!” @jordannrose1 5.2.26 married my best friend! wedding content by the amazing @absocialstudio #wedding #bride #2026bride #2026wedding #lajolla ♬ original sound – jordan People loved the clever, creative weaving of the audio into the father-daughter dance. And of course, commenters adored the groom’s stunned reaction: “You just KNOW your dad has been planning that since the moment you said ‘Dad, this is Max.'” “Just sobbing over a girl who manifested her entire life without knowing it.” “This is the most beautiful invisible string story I’ve ever heard of.” “The fact your husband was crying before he even heard his name said… a REAL one!! Congratulations!” “I am BAWLING RIGHT NOW. literally the definition of ‘in every lifetime.'” Of all the uses of childhood videos at a wedding, this one might be the most creative and meaningful yet. Congratulations to the adorable couple, who were so clearly meant for one another. You can follow Jordan on TikTok. The post Dad stuns bride with a recording of her accurately describing her future wedding at 4 years old appeared first on Upworthy.

When it comes to happiness, we’ve got to try every angle possible. Some people are born with serotonin-soaked synapses, while others aren’t so lucky. The good news is that, according to Harvard University social scientist and author Arthur C. Brooks, there are techniques that can, in a sense, help our minds quickly move in the right direction. In a recent clip posted to Facebook, Brooks explains the “four savoring techniques” for elevating one’s mood. As with many of his thoughts on psychological matters—many of which have been covered by Upworthy staffers—he gets straight to the point. As he writes on his website, “Happiness isn’t a destination — it’s a direction.” 1. Behavioral display “Number one is what they call behavioral display, which means expressing positive emotion with nonverbal behaviors,” Brooks said. “Smile, even if you don’t feel it. You’ll fool your brain. You’ll be happier because of this behavioral display. Smile more. Pretend you’re happier. Go act happier.” 2. Be present “Second, be present, which is mindfully focusing on the pleasant experience,” Brooks said. “And what that means is saying to yourself, ‘I am doing this thing. I am sitting on the train looking out at a beautiful seascape.’ Being present actually means saying the thing to yourself because you want to bring it from your subconscious into your prefrontal cortex— into your consciousness, where you’re really thinking about something. And the way to do that is by saying it. And it’s really unbelievably effective.” 3. Capitalize the positive “Number three is capitalizing, which means talking about and celebrating positive experiences with others,” Brooks said. “Don’t just say it to yourself. Say it to other people. Talk about the experience that you’re actually having. Notice things to other people, which makes this even more conscious, even more concrete, even more permanent.” 4. Mental time travel “And last but not least is what they call ‘positive mental time travel,’ which is vivid reminiscence or anticipation of positive events,” Brooks said. “To savor the past on purpose, by paying attention to the positive parts.” Savoring is a subject Brooks talks about often. In a clip on Instagram, he shares not only the techniques people can try, but also why they’re worth trying. In the post, he writes: “Savoring is rebelling against yourself. We’re wired to notice what’s wrong before we notice what’s good. That helped our ancestors survive, but it also means we move through life without fully experiencing the moments worth savoring. Savoring doesn’t come naturally. It’s a conscious act of pushing back against the brain’s constant pull toward worry, vigilance, and the next thing. And in a culture that rewards speed and distraction, slowing down long enough to truly enjoy something requires conscious effort.” View this post on Instagram “We’re not evolved for savoring” In the clip, Brooks discusses how our brains are wired from an evolutionary standpoint to protect our survival: “We’re not evolved for savoring. We’re evolved to rush through everything and pay attention to the negative. We have brains that were designed, more or less, in their current form something like 250,000 years ago in the late Pleistocene Era. And that was a dangerous time to be Homo sapiens. You had to pay attention a lot or you were gonna be a wild animal’s lunch. So we have more brain space dedicated to negative emotions than positive emotions. That’s what gives us what we call the negativity bias in our lives. Negativity bias means that life isn’t that great all the time, but we’re more likely to get to tomorrow or more likely to survive the night. That makes perfect evolutionary sense that your suspicious inner troglodyte is trying to survive and pass on your genes. You’re not a saber-toothed tiger’s lunch.” View this post on Instagram Prefrontal cortex to the rescue “But that negativity bias is now maladaptive,” Brooks added. “It’s basically an error that we would do that. That we would not savor, but rather that we’d be suspicious and vigilant and trying to get into the future as quickly as possible. But that’s why we have a prefrontal cortex so that we have decisions. We can make conscious decisions, and even though I have a negativity bias, I can override it with my consciousness.” Upworthy spoke with licensed therapist Matt Grammer, who agrees that the four savoring techniques are helpful reminders that it’s possible to sometimes short-circuit negativity. “Savoring gives people the opportunity to slow down to register positive experiences, instead of continuing on in stress response mode,” Grammer said. “It helps people attain equilibrium and improve emotional resilience and stress recovery and satisfaction in relationships.” “Coding” the positive Grammer also notes that life can feel tedious when we don’t stop to reframe our thoughts. “Though people may experience objective positive reality, life seems emotionless and flat, because we are so quick to get to the next step without enjoying or ‘coding’ positive experiences in long-term emotional memory,” he said. Dr. Ashley Smith, a licensed psychologist and co-founder of Peak Mind: The Center for Psychological Health, specifically discussed the “built-in negativity bias” with Upworthy. “We more readily notice, hone in, and remember bad stuff over good,” Smith said. “In fact, negative things get encoded in our memory almost instantaneously, while positive things take 10 times longer—10 to 12 seconds. That’s where savoring comes in. If you don’t intentionally amplify and savor a positive experience—intentionally focusing on it and how it makes you feel for a full 10 seconds—it’s like it never happened neurologically!” “Memory capture” As for how to put this information to good use, Amberley Meredith, psychologist and author of The Adaptable Sustainable Psychology Collection, shares with Upworthy how to reverse rumination: “It’s called a ‘memory capture.’ We often ruminate and go over the difficult moments repeatedly. This is about doing the reverse. We take in every sound, every smell. We linger our gaze on each aspect of the moment that we can see. We pay attention to any words being spoken, replaying them gently in our minds. We take time with tastes and sensations, noticing how our body feels in the moment. Savouring is an art, but with practice it can become a more accessible and spontaneous response over time. And the memories you ‘bank’ can be re-experienced and enjoyed with greater clarity, perhaps as a buffer or reminder of better times during those difficult moments.” The post Psychologists say these four ‘savoring techniques’ trick our minds into feeling instantly happier appeared first on Upworthy.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, a college graduation turned into something students at North Carolina State University will likely talk about for the rest of their lives. What began as a classic commencement ceremony for graduates of the Wilson College of Textiles ended with cheers, tears, and a surprise announcement that instantly changed the financial futures of hundreds of students. As the grads gathered inside Reynolds Coliseum on May 8, commencement speaker Anil Kochhar shared that he and his wife, Marilyn, would pay off all final-year student loans for the graduating class. The announcement came as a tribute to Kochhar’s late father, Prakash Chand Kochhar, whose own journey to Raleigh began nearly 80 years ago. A tribute decades in the making Kochhar explained that his father traveled from Punjab, India, to North Carolina in 1946 on a scholarship to study textile manufacturing at NC State. At the time, he was believed to be only the second Indian student ever to enroll at the university. His education eventually led to an international career in textiles before his death in 1985. Years later, his son returned to the same institution to honor that legacy in a way no one in the audience expected. “It is my privilege to announce today that, in honor of my father Prakash Chand Kochhar, Marilyn and I are providing a graduation gift to cover all the final-year education loans incurred by Wilson College graduates during the 2025–26 academic year,” Kochhar announced. “Marilyn and I hope that all of you leave Reynolds Coliseum today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks and build the lives you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” he added. You can watch the video, courtesy of the New York Post, below:  Students were stunned by the announcement The crowd immediately erupted into applause as students realized what the gift meant. For many students, that payoff will grant more freedom, opening doors that may have previously felt out of reach. One student, fashion and textile management major Alyssa D’Costa, explained how meaningful the gesture was to her family. A female graduate. Photo credit: Canva “As a daughter of immigrants, this money helps me and my family a lot, and I’m really fortunate to have an opportunity like this,” D’Costa told the university. Viewers were moved, too The emotional response from students spread quickly online, with many people praising the Kochhar family for investing directly in graduates at a time when student debt continues to weigh heavily on young adults nationwide. “I imagine there are some of those graduates who really really needed that. Just lifted a burden off them. You have honored your father for certain,” wrote one YouTube viewer.  Another said, “This is truly beautiful: Genuinely what a kind soul.” Why this tribute was extra special The Kochhar family has previously contributed to the college through scholarships and academic funding, but this particular gift carried a different emotional weight. During his remarks, Kochhar reflected on how unlikely the moment would have once seemed to his father. “My father could not have imagined this moment. Not just me standing here, but all of you sitting here,” he said. “A new generation, shaped by a different world, but connected by the same spirit of possibility that brought him here decades ago. And that’s what today represents.” He also described the courage it took for his father to leave India and begin a new chapter in Raleigh many years ago. “He could not have known where that journey would lead,” Kochhar said. “He could not have imagined the life it would create, or that one day his son would stand here speaking to a graduating class at the very institution that welcomed him.” Graduates tossing their caps. Photo credit: Canva For students crossing the graduation stage that afternoon, the ceremony became more than a celebration of academic achievement. It also marked the beginning of adulthood with a little more breathing room and served as a reminder of how one act of generosity can ripple through an entire community. The post North Carolina graduates blown away when commencement speaker pledges to pay off their senior-year debt appeared first on Upworthy.