MACHIAS — Douglas Haig, 32, studied for five years at Pratt Institute, an art school in New York City that costs about $45,000 a year in tuition and fees.
He never graduated, though, because he switched between majors and had to take additional courses.
“I didn’t have any guidance. I didn’t know what to shoot for,” Haig said.
The Florida native became fed up with the cutthroat atmosphere at the school and quit to become an independent artist.
But without connections in the art world, he struggled to pay his bills and ended up joining the Army as a medic, serving between 2007 and 2012, including a 10-month tour in Iraq in 2010.
He’s studying art now at the University of Maine at Machias, his tuition paid for by the Army, and will graduate this year.
However, he still owes tens of thousands of dollars in college loans. He doesn’t know how much he owes, and doesn’t know how he’s going to pay the money back.
He just knows this much: “I am going to be in debt for the rest of my life,” he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.