EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – If you owe student loans, you don’t have to pay them now because President Joe Biden has extended the hiatus on student loan payments.

El Pasoan Michelle Sapien told KTSM 9 News that she dropped out of college during the pandemic, due to the move of online classes, but still had loans to repay.

“I guess that’s a relief for a lot of us who are struggling right now,” Sapien said. “I ended up giving up because I hated being online, that frustrates me.”

She added that she had also been unemployed for some time, but said the extension would help save her money before she had to start paying off her student loan debt again.

“I was unemployed for a long time, but now I hardly found a new job,” Sapien said.

Dante Hinojosa, a resident of El Pasoan who is still currently enrolled in university, said that while still in school, he has yet to repay his loans.

“I have very little student loan debt, but it’s stressful. As. when I don’t go to school, because then they’ll start trying to get payments and then the interest rates will start hitting me and stuff like that, ”Hinojosa said.

University of Texas at El Paso President Heather Wilson told KTSM she thinks the extension is a great idea, adding that more help will be available for UTEP students soon and that the plan for this assistance will be announced directly to the students.

“We know our students are strapped for cash,” Wilson said. “Many of them have lost their jobs, their parents have lost their jobs; the most important thing they can do is continue their education.