Derek Lipkin was witness to the achievement gap at his high school in Los Altos, CA, and after finishing college, decided to help build a program for students who are the first in their families to go to college.

Family Background: “My mother's grandparents came from Nicaragua and El Salvador, while my father's parents grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City. While my mom was born and stayed in San Francisco, my father eventually made his way across the country to northern California.”

Where I Grew Up:Northern California and Bellevue, WA

Pre College Education: Bacich Elementary; Cougar Ridge Elementary; Issaquah Middle School; Los Altos High School

College Education: UCLA - B.A.

"Aha" Moment: "Speaking with the Daily Bruin editor-in-chief during my freshman orientation. I knew what I wanted to do."

Biggest Challenge To get there: “Keeping myself organized. I had to juggle a full-time job as an editor at the newspaper while still taking a full courseload.”

Biggest Challenge In College: “Time management was my biggest challenge. I wanted to take a full load of classes, but I worked at the newspaper from my first year on, so finding time for both was not always easy.”

Mentor: “Both of my parents, whether they knew it or not, instilled within me a real desire to succeed.”

Favorite Teacher:Ms. Vosovic - A woman who really opened me up to being engaged academically on a level I had yet to experience.”

Favorite Author: A tie between Alex Haley and James Michener.

Stop by Derek's profile page here and say hello!