Get your trivia caps on.
Which two UF graduates won money to help pay off their student loans?
Answer: Jenny Neelands, 35, and Kayla Ventura, 25.
Neelands and Ventura won a combined total of more than $22,000 through Givling, an app (available for iPhones and Androids) that helps Americans pay off student loan and mortgage debt.
Ventura, who won $10,901.17, graduated from UF in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in health science. Neelands graduated from UF in 2010 with a master’s in sport management and in 2015 with a master’s in public health.
Neelands, who won $12,246, was shocked when she found out she won.
“When you’re playing, you want to win, but there’s so many games happening, and it’s shocking to see that you’re actually in first,” she said.
Seth Beard, Givling’s chief marketing officer, said the app has about 450,000 users.
Users participate in true/false trivia. By playing each day, users are also entered into drawings that could potentially earn them $500 in cash — or $10,000 towards their student loans or mortgages, Beard said.
“We have anything from geography to math to pop culture, history — Games of Thrones even,” Beard said.
As long as you are 18 and up, you can join the app, Beard said.
Lynn Tramonte, public relations representative, said Givling has given away a total of $3,184,900 as of May 20.
Neelands feels Givling provides a community for people going through similar situations with debt. There is a Facebook group where people can post resources and help each other.
“I feel like [student loan debt] can be something that’s kind of hard to talk about or something that people don’t want to put out there, even though student loan debt is affecting so many people,” Neelands said.
Neelands won $12,246 on Givling. She grew up in Gainesville, and went to the University of Connecticut for her bachelor’s in nutritional sciences. She came back to Gainesville and graduated from UF in 2010 with a master’s degree in sports management and in 2015 with a master’s in public health.
Kayla Ventura won $10,901.17 on Givling. She graduated from UF in 2016 with a bachelor’s in health science and received her master’s of medical science from Nova Southeastern University in 2018.
