Kamau Marshall, a 2004 Carver High School graduate, has made his way through the ranks in Washington and will now work as a senior advisor in the Department of Education.
Jason Spears / The J Spot Photography
Kamau Marshall believes student debt is one of the major problems today’s college graduates have to grapple with. He also sees a myriad of issues facing kids in high schools and earlier grades as something he can fix.
Those passions propelled Marshall up the ranks in the federal government and now he has a chance to implement ideas and solutions at the highest levels.
The Carver High School alum who served in the Biden Administration began a new position senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Education to the Secretary Miguel Cardona on Jan. 3, working within the office of communication and outreach..
“I have quite a few educators in my family,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “So, it was kind of personal to me. And education has always played a role in my life.”
After graduating from Texas Southern University, Marshall’s first job was as a middle and high school teacher in Houston.
In his new role, Marshall will advise Cardona on student loan debt, K-12 and higher education, among other areas.
He previously served as President Biden’s director of strategic communications during his 2020 Presidential campaign before working as the deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Media and Public Affairs.
While working for the Biden campaign, Marshall focused on education and was honored to be tapped for the position in the education department.
“I do like the issue areas I get to work on because they all serve a purpose,” Marshall said. “They’re all life sustaining and something that a lot of folks have to deal with.”
He is looking forward to working on student debt because of how it affects economic outcomes of individuals who are deep in debt from loans they took out to seek out higher education.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk, especially among Millennials, who have been drowning in student debt and have been unable to go and buy homes, to make these big purchases that previous generations have been able to do,” Marshall said.
Americans have about $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, including federal and private student loans. And Gen Z had 13% more student debt than Millennials, according to a 2022 report by the Federal Reserve.
Marshall moved around a lot as a child, but spent most of his teenage years in Columbus and graduated from Carver in 2004. His time spent in Muscogee County laid the foundation for the trajectory of Marshall’s career in Washington D.C., he said.
During his time attending middle and high school in Muscogee County, Marshall was exposed to many different kinds of people when it came to education, he said. He believes the work he will be doing in the Department of Education will help the people in Columbus, especially those in the Muscogee County School District.
“If it wasn’t for my experience there, I wouldn’t be where I am now,” Marshall said.
Brittany McGee is the Business and Engagement reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer. She is a 2021 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Media and Journalism with a second degree in Economics. She began at the Ledger-Enquirer as a Report for America corps member covering the COVID-19 recovery in Columbus.
