Taylor Swift sends $6,386.47 to Ontario university student to help with tuition

For Ayesha Khurram, an Ontario university student and huge fan of Taylor Swift, life has just gotten a whole lot easier.

Swift sent $6,386.47 to Khurram through PayPal on Monday after the Mississauga, Ont. resident posted on Tumblr on the weekend about her struggles to pay tuition this semester.

Khurram, 20, who met Swift last year after the singer performed in Toronto, is a University of Waterloo accounting and financial management student going into second year. She says she didn’t know how she and her parents were going to afford her schooling this year and asked online for help.

“One of my friends online was like, ‘You should drop your PayPal so we can help you out,’ and I was like, ‘That’s not a bad idea, I should totally do that.’ And then I did. And next thing I know, I literally have no more problems anymore.”

Khurram said she was baking cookies when she got the notification from Taylor Nation, LLC about the online money transfer.

A note attached to the transfer said: “Ayesha, get your learn on, girl! I love you, Taylor!”

It was a special moment. “I can’t put it into words. It was insane. I could not believe it,” Khurram said.

“It’s more than what I asked for. She is just so generous. I literally cried myself to sleep last night. This is the kind of thing you don’t expect. You don’t even dream about it. In no corner of your brain are you thinking, ‘Taylor Swift is going to send me money and help me out.'”

Khurram’s mother suffers from chronic kidney disease and Khurram said her family has been under much emotional stress.

She said she also received less funding this year from the Ontario Student Assistance Program and her tuition is higher this year than last. She’ll be paying nearly $9,000 this year.

‘Huge burden has been lifted off me’

“It feels like this huge burden has been lifted off me. I literally feel so happy. I’m going to go out. I’m going to eat a burger. I’m going to watch a movie. I’m just going to celebrate, like fully. I can’t believe this has happened to me.”

Swift and Khurram met backstage at a concert on Aug. 3, 2018 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre after Swift noticed and liked Tumblr posts by Khurram. Swift interacts with her fans online, Khurram said.

Following the likes, Taylor Nation sent Khurram a direct message and invited her to meet the pop star.

“She is literally my favourite person on the planet,” Khurram said.

Khurram has posted the note from Taylor Nation and Taylor herself on Instagram.