Olivia Rodrigo quietly covered $5,000 of a University of Alabama student’s final-semester tuition after discovering the young woman was struggling to finish school, a gesture the graduate kept private for more than a year before sharing it this week.
Jamie Causey, a first-generation college student from Alexander City, Ala., revealed the story in a recent TikTok. Causey graduated in May 2025 with a degree in public relations and a minor in digital, public and professional writing. She now works as an academic adviser at the University of Alabama.
Causey began posting on TikTok in 2024, sharing candid videos about the less-polished side of campus life: feeling isolated, balancing academics without the social safety net of Greek life, and reminding other students they weren’t alone. Her content, centered on positivity and self-esteem, eventually grew to roughly 91,000 followers.
In early 2025, Rodrigo left a public birthday comment on one of Causey’s videos: “Happy birthday gorgeous!!!!” Shortly afterward, Causey posted about the financial pressure of her final semester. In-state undergraduate tuition at the University of Alabama was approximately $5,959 at the time. She emphasized she was not soliciting donations or seeking pity — she was simply being honest about the reality many first-generation students face.
Rodrigo saw the video and reached out privately. In a direct message later shared by Causey, the singer wrote: “Hi girl! I know you don’t know me but I love your videos so much, you seem like the kindest coolest gal and you are such a source of positivity and light in my life! I watched ur last vid about tuition and I’d love to help out if you were at all open to that? So cool that you are so close to graduating! Do you have a Venmo I could send to?”
Causey replied that she loved Rodrigo’s music, that it had been a source of strength, and that she had never publicly shared her Venmo because she didn’t believe others should bear the cost of her decision to attend college. She added that she was willing to accept help.
In April 2025, a representative from Rodrigo’s team confirmed the $5,000 transfer. Causey verified the sender before accepting the funds, which covered the majority of her remaining balance. She was two classes from graduating.
Causey chose to stay quiet about the exchange. “I didn’t want something that meant so much to become a public spectacle,” she said. Only after graduating and beginning her role as an academic adviser did she decide to tell the story, also thanking others who had supported her along the way, including Paris Hilton, Summer House cast member West Wilson and TikTok creator Ophelia “Mama Tot” Nichols.
Addressing Rodrigo directly in her video, Causey said: “Olivia, I don’t know if you’ll ever understand how much that means to me. You made me feel like I belong on this platform. You didn’t owe me anything. You just chose to show kindness to a stranger. You’ve always been about giving back to others, and that’s something I’ll take with me forever.”
Rodrigo’s team has not issued a public statement. The quiet act of support aligns with the singer’s history of directing resources toward education and women’s causes, including previous large-scale donations from her tour proceeds.
