PHILADELPHIA _ Hillary Clinton, campaigning Monday at Temple University, told college students _ many of whom are drowning in debt _ that she's the candidate to address their needs.
"No one will work harder to make your life better," Clinton said, promising to give young people a say in White House decision-making.
Clinton told the crowd of about 200 at Mitten Hall that she has a plan that would offer debt-free public college for everyone, apprentice programs for those who opt to not go to college, and high-quality child care for every family.
The Democratic presidential nominee's speech focused on her past work with children and families _ starting when she graduated law school and worked for the Children's Defense Fund _ and how she would continue that as president.
"I am going to close my campaign the same way I started my career: fighting for kids and young people and families," she said to loud applause.
Clinton has worked with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who was popular among millennials during the Democratic primary, to develop an affordable college plan for everyone, she said. Clinton wants to offer tuition-free public college for working families and have every student graduate debt-free. For those who already have student debt, she said her administration would work to help people refinance the debt.
"So you are never on the hook for more than you can afford," she said.
Several students in the audience could relate to the plan.
Ray Crozier, a Temple junior, has racked up $15,000 in debt and expects to graduate with much more. Yet he said considered himself lucky.
"I'm one of the few students who my parents will help me out a little," he said, noting that he knows a lot of students who owe a lot of money in student loans.
Clinton didn't offer specifics during the speech about the tuition-free and debt-free college plans.
She said people also need good-paying jobs when they leave college or apprentice programs. She vowed to fight for increased minimum wage and equal pay for women, the latter receiving a standing ovation from many women in the room.
She said that "our most cherished values are at stake" in this election and begged those in the audience to vote in November.
"This is going to be close," she said. "Not voting is not an option."
The former secretary of state and first lady said that the principles that guided her in the beginning of her career and when she first ran for U.S. Senate in New York still guide her today.
"I took a leap then for the same reason I took a leap now: to even the odds for those who have the odds stacked against them, especially children and families," she said.
