Sonia Lewis endured the worst year of her life when she was a senior in high school — her mother almost died and Lewis had to step up to take care of her family.
But the principal and teachers at her Philadelphia high school lifted her up, helped her get to college, and Lewis took care of the rest — multiple advanced degrees, a thriving career, a national profile.
As Lewis racked up accomplishments, it was always in the back of her mind to return the favor to her school, somehow.
“For me, who I am today is really a huge part is Bodine High School,” she said.
So on a December day, Lewis walked into the auditorium of the Philadelphia School District magnet school with a surprise — the largest donation ever given to the nonprofit that supports Bodine. She gave $16,200 to cover the bulk of every senior’s class dues — funds that most students struggle to pay.
Aaliyah Bolden, a Bodine 12th grader, was jubilant after the announcement.
“I’m just so grateful,” Bolden said. “Coming from an underrepresented community and having financial hardships, this just makes a big difference to me.”
‘Can you work with me?’
Lewis was a standout student at Bodine, an international affairs high school in Northern Liberties. She was class president, active in student government, a strong student in the Class of 2005, a leader.
She was raised by her single mother and grandmother, both Philadelphia teachers, told from a very young age that she was college-bound.
But when Lewis was 16, her priorities shifted, out of necessity. Her mother was gravely ill with bacterial meningitis and other complications. Her grandmother had just beaten cancer, but it fell to Lewis to advocate for her mother, to take her to appointments, to navigate the healthcare system on her behalf. She worked three jobs to help bridge financial gaps.
School just could not be at the top of her priority list.
“I had to tell my high school, ‘These are my circumstances. I’m going to have to leave school to make some of these appointments,’” Lewis said. “I was just really clear with everyone at Bodine about what I needed, and I said, ‘Can you work with me?’”
They did. But some deadlines are firm, and Lewis missed the federal student-aid loan deadline because her mother had just gotten out of a coma, had cognitive issues, and was unable to gather the necessary information or complete the form.
“I had to become the mom,” Lewis said. “I would have to ask her, ‘Did you brush your teeth today?’ Nobody was thinking of the FAFSA.”
As students’ college acceptances were rolling in, Bodine’s principal noticed that there were none for Lewis. The principal asked her what was happening.
Lewis’ grandmother contemplated taking out a mortgage on her house to send her to college, but Lewis was too practical for that.
“I told the principal, ‘We don’t have any money. We missed the deadline,’” she said. “There was no money coming in from my mom. We had my grandmother’s retirement, but that wasn’t enough.”
Lewis figured she would work for a year, saving money and filling out the FAFSA form for the next cycle. But Karen P. Hill, the principal, just shook her head.
A busybody for good
The principal’s plan became evident at Bodine’s senior awards ceremony, Lewis remembers, when “they just kept calling my name” as prizes were announced.
At the end of the evening, Lewis walked off with an envelope full of checks totaling $16,000 — enough to allow her to enroll at Bloomsburg University and pay her first year’s tuition.
Once she got to Bloomsburg, Lewis continued to grind, working multiple jobs, earning scholarships, making connections. Then, after she earned her bachelor’s degree, Lewis moved on to working in higher education, spending time at Peirce College and elsewhere as an academic coach and in admissions.
She earned her master’s degree, and eventually her doctorate. Now, she’s “the Student Loan Doctor”; Lewis believes her 13-employee company is the first Black woman-owned student loan repayment firm in the United States.
Lewis coaches clients to create plans to pay off their student loan debt — through repayment, loan consolidation and forgiveness, and more. She’s a sought-after expert, quoted in national publications, offering free weekly classes, growing her business by the year. She has 150,000 followers on Instagram.
Lewis is allergic to sitting still. Her nickname in her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, was “Busybody.” She has channeled that for good — the Student Loan Doctor has now served over 50,000 clients since 2016, helping get an estimated $55 million in student loans forgiven.
The business is hard work, but a joy for Lewis, who gets to know she makes a direct impact on her clients’ lives — like the surgeon who had $997,000 in loans, including loans that were in arrears.
“He didn’t know what to do,” Lewis said. “He got his loans forgiven. He wound up paying us like $300. We’re very affordable.”
The hardest worker
A few days before winter break, Lewis entered the Bodine auditorium with a massive smile on her face.
Her gift — hatched after Lewis presented a $1,000 scholarship to a Bodine graduate in the spring, then decided to go much bigger — was a surprise for the students, who knew only that a successful alum was visiting.
David Brown, the Bodine principal, reminded the students gathered in the auditorium that the small school was a special place.
“Our leaders don’t just leave with diplomas,” Brown said. “They leave with a global perspective.”
Then Marty Moyers, a Bodine teacher and president of the Friends of Bodine, a nonprofit that raises money for the school, presented Lewis: “Her journey has been a great one, and it started right here in this building,” Moyers said.
When he announced Lewis’ plan, there was stunned silence at first. Then, wild applause broke out. Students’ faces were jubilant.
Remember this, Lewis told them: She didn’t have a 4.0 grade-point average. But she showed up in every way possible.
“Even in my professional life as a super-successful entrepreneur, I’m not the best, but I’m a really hard worker,” Lewis said. “You guys got that. That’s the discipline and the spirit you want to have about yourselves as you’re leaving Bodine and you’re going into college, or you’re going into the workforce or entrepreneurship.”
De’Anna Drummond, a senior, is deep into her applying-for-scholarships-and-worrying-about-paying-for-college season. Class dues were another stress to think about, but she was delighted at the news that they are mostly covered, thanks to Lewis.
“Any donation is appreciated,” Drummond said. “It all adds up — senior trip, senior brunch, yearbook, everything.”
Bolden, Drummond’s friend, nodded.
“And someday,” Bolden said, “we should also give back when we can.”
