Florida Atlantic: Changing Lives

Before helping thousands of Palm Beach County students earn admission to top-tier universities, Christine Sylvain was a high-achieving high school senior who hadn’t submitted a single college application. Despite her stellar academic record, mounting financial hardship at home had quietly pushed higher education from a lifelong goal to a fading possibility. By the spring of her senior year, college no longer felt attainable.

When she learned Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College in Jupiter automatically considered first-year applicants for scholarships and financial aid, that changed. She soon applied and was accepted.

“I was the right type of student for the Honors College,” said Sylvain, who graduated cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. “Very nerdy and having a lot of potential in the small-school environment. The liberal arts and the interdisciplinary opportunities there appealed to me. And so, I got lucky, honestly, that I landed at the Honors College because it was just what I needed.”

Now, nearly two decades later, Sylvain is transforming her own moment of uncertainty into a mission that is changing the trajectory of an entire community. She is the founder and executive director of Path to College, a nonprofit organization based in Palm Beach County with a clear mission: help hardworking, low-income students gain admission to top-tier universities.

Sylvain’s Path

After graduating from FAU, Sylvain earned a master’s in journalism from New York University in 2010. She spent the first few years of her career as an associate producer at a production company, contributing to PBS documentaries, including the Emmy Award-winning “Hecho a Mano.”

Sylvain eventually returned to Palm Beach County, where she began teaching and led the journalism department at Inlet Grove High School in Riviera Beach. Inlet Grove is a Title I school, meaning it receives federal funding to help support its high percentage of low-income students. Sylvain said seeing the challenges the students faced every day was eye opening.

“You would see talented kids coming to school every day, putting all this work into so many things, and so often, it didn’t amount to anything,” Sylvain said. “They would graduate, but nothing would change in their lives or family’s lives because they wouldn’t necessarily go to college.”

Sylvain later worked at the Batt School, a private institution in Juno Beach, where she witnessed the stark contrast in resources and individualized support, highlighting the one-on-one counseling students received.

As someone who navigated financial hardship growing up, Sylvain said she saw her story reflected in students who didn’t have the same resources as those from wealthy backgrounds, and she decided it was time to do something about it.

“I had a fire in my belly,” Sylvain said.

Driven by this passion, Sylvain founded Path to College in 2017, starting a program that provides “wraparound services to kids who, if given the opportunity, could bring their community and family forward. And that’s what we’ve been doing ever since. We’ve helped thousands of kids,” Sylvain said.

Among its offerings, Path to College provides personalized college advising, rigorous SAT preparation, essay and resume workshops, mentoring and one-on-one counseling.

“It’s about many things,” Sylvain said. “It’s confidence building. It’s a culture of optimism and support. It’s the strategy. That’s what we do for these kids.”

Since launching, 100% of its graduates have been admitted to four-year colleges, with 60% earning full scholarships. Approximately 60% of those students have been accepted into top-tier universities and 75% are first-generation college students.

Sylvain’s leadership has been recognized across the community. She received Woman of the Year honors in 2025 by the Palm Beach North Chamber and has been named to Palm Beach Illustrated’s 100 Most Influential list for the past three years. Additionally, Sylvain, who has been a TEDx speaker, received the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Leadership Award and was honored by Florida Atlantic with the Outstanding Young Owls award in 2019. Her vision for opportunity continues to guide her work.

“We know the challenges,” Sylvain said. “They’re just the sweetest kids and life just hits them over and over. But to see a kid persist — it is life changing. They’re not going to be in debt when they graduate. They’re going to earn higherpaying jobs, and they’re going to lift their families up. It’s the most beautiful thing and the only thing that stops poverty. It’s just absolutely incredible.”