0:32
\"I still have the text that he sent me and my response. I wrote back, ‘Oh my God,'\" said Young, remembering that Esch tried to downplay his generosity. \"I told him, 'I feel like your $693 is $1 million. I feel like I hit the jackpot.'\"
\"That weekend I did make enough money to pay the $693 and I tried to give it to Kevin and he wouldn’t take it,\" she said. \"He told me to use it for my kids.\"
Young started back at Georgia State in August 2018 and walked across the stage last month to receive her associate's degree in criminal justice.
Esch, whom Young still keeps in touch with, watched her accept her degree.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/latonya-young-1-ht-aa-200102_hpEmbed_6x13_384.jpg\")
\"That was amazing, to be there and to see the smile on her face and to know that she did it,\" said Esch. \"I know she’s going to go places much further than that now.\"
Esch received a letter and picture frame from Georgia State University to note his role in Young's graduation.
“Kevin Esch has been justifiably applauded and heralded for providing the funds to enable Georgia State student Latonya Young to earn a college degree, but his gift is so much bigger than that. With it he has changed a life and opened a door to a brighter future for a student who, like so many others we see at Georgia State, simply needs a chance to achieve and succeed,\" the university told \"GMA\" in a statement.
Young, who is paying for college with student loans and financial aid, plans to return to Georgia State this month to work toward her bachelor's degree. Her ultimate goal is to go to law school and become a defense attorney.
\"My mother quit school in seventh grade to care for her brothers and sisters,\" said Young, who was raised by a single mom. \"I always talked about wanting to go to college and then my dreams were shattered because I didn’t have that person to instill the value of education in me.\"
\"I would like the world to know who Kevin is and that there are still good people out there,\" she said.
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