Erin Brinkman grew up in Asia and Europe and moved to the United States for college, intending to study community development. However, she shifted her focus to teaching English after a professor advised her that the best way to strengthen and revitalize communities is through education. She worked as a recruiter in the Covenant College Admissions office before receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English. She came to Memphis as a resident in the Memphis Teacher Residency, earning her Master of Urban Education with a license in 7-12 ELA, and she subsequently taught high school English at Hamilton High School and GRAD Academy Memphis. She taught junior and senior English with a specific focus on college application essays, ACT prep, reading intervention for below-grade readers, literacy, and AP English Literature. After five years of teaching, she transitioned into the world of post-secondary counseling at The Soulsville Charter School. At Soulsville, she became an expert in the college application process, financial aid, competitive scholarships, the FAFSA, military enlistment, technical schools, and test prep for the ACT, ASVAB, and LSAT (she herself received a 170 on the LSAT and the SAT equivalent of a 33 on the ACT). The post-secondary process is complex, posing financial, academic, and logistical barriers to students attempting to continue their education. All students deserve support in accessing post-secondary pathways that fit their skills, goals, and needs, whether those pathways are technical school, the military, community college, certification, or a four-year institution. After being in education for seven years, Erin is leaving the education field to attend law school at Washington University in St. Louis where she will study public interest law and one day advocate for a more just society including equal education for all students regardless of race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status.