Dr. Lynn Cevallos had an unorthodox journey in education. Despite early participation in gifted programs, she dropped out of school at 15. Her experiences drove her to pursue work in public education to prevent future students from dropping out. Lynn earned her bachelor’s in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Boston College and began her career as a teacher. Her work evolved into leadership roles in government, higher education, K-12, nonprofits, and corporations. Desiring deeper knowledge of the root causes contributing to achievement gaps, she pursued her doctoral studies at UCLA. Her dissertation provided the foundation for College Bridge, a non-profit focused on closing equity gaps through strategic K-16 alignment. This work led to her use of dual enrollment as a catalyst for student success.