On July 1, after 35 years at the helm of CFES Brilliant Pathways, Founder and CEO Rick Dalton officially passed the baton to Tara Smith. Tara joined the organization as a recent college graduate 22 years ago and has grown with the Essex, NY-based nonprofit ever since.

This transition offers a moment to reflect—not just on how far we’ve come, but also on how much the landscape of college and career readiness has shifted since our work began.

When we launched 35 years ago, a college degree was widely seen as the surest path to opportunity. Families across the country believed in its promise. Our work focused on demystifying the process for students from underserved communities —especially the more than 25% who would be the first in their families to attend college. We guided them through applications, financial aid and the admissions process, believing—as most did—that if you got into college, good results would follow.

But today, that belief has faded. Seventy percent of students and families now question the value of higher education. Young men, in particular, are falling significantly behind in educational attainment.

In 1990, students often earned a degree first, then figured out what to do with it. Today, this has been reversed. Starting as early as fourth grade, students in our programs gain real-world career exposure that helps them understand not just how to go to college, but why.

They visit the offices of TransPerfect in Honolulu and New York City where they have lunch with corporate mentors. They have mentoring exposure with leaders from Colgate-Palmolive and Southwest Airlines. They explore hospitals, tech hubs, engineering firms and law offices in and around their communities. These personalized experiences give our students valuable career insights, and help them choose what to study before they step onto a college campus.

The evolution doesn’t stop there. The college experience itself is nearly unrecognizable from a generation ago. More students now enroll for online courses than for in-person courses, and alternative credentials are steadily gaining ground on traditional degrees. Indeed, the pace of change in the last five years has outstripped that of the previous three decades.

The question today isn’t so much about the need for education or training, it’s a question of how all students can find and access an educational avenue that is specifically tailored to their needs.

Brilliant Pathways has adapted to these changes to ensure that every student in our program graduates with a specific postsecondary plan, whether that means a four-year college, a two-year degree, a trade certification, or another pathway. We have balanced a traditional college-and-education mindset with holistic attention to careers and flexible training that are proven to bring meaningful careers to fruition.

We’ve expanded our support systems with virtual campus tours, e-mentoring, and online tools that remove geographic barriers. We’ve integrated Career and Technical Education (CTE) into our programming, not as a separate track, but as a core component of our model. And we’ve elevated the importance of skills that are often overlooked, such as agility, networking and perseverance, because we know they’re just as vital to student and career success as academic achievement.

Most importantly, we’ve prioritized real-world experiences: internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and project-based learning that connect the classroom to the workplace. In these programs there is much to celebrate.

The path forward is not without its complexities, however. In recent years, the field of higher education has been systemically disparaged, often caught in a politicized debate that obscures the fundamental value of a college education. An undeniable truth remains: the vast majority of new jobs that will provide a livable wage in the coming decades will require some form of postsecondary education or training.

It was this very paradox that led us to a crucial realization. We observed that our previous name, College for Every Student (CFES), while appropriate in its time, was causing people to “flinch” in this rapidly evolving climate. It inadvertently contributed to a misconception that our goal was a singular, rigid path focused on a four-year (or more) degree.

In 2025, we believe that every student should have a personalized postsecondary plan. Our challenge is to ensure that each student’s plan will thoughtfully integrate development of essential skills, definition of career aspiration and appropriate college education or training, ensuring students are equipped for success, no matter their chosen route.

This challenge has brought about a fundamental shift in our mission and strategy. We will continue to advocate and enable college for every student for whom a two or four-year degree is the optimal choice. We will be unwavering in our commitment to empower all Brilliant Pathways scholars to navigate their own unique journeys with clarity, purpose, and the essential skills needed to thrive in the world ahead, no matter where these journeys might take them.

At Brilliant Pathways, we look forward to the challenge!

Rick Dalton and Tara Smith are executives at Brilliant Pathways (Essex, NY), which since its founding in 1990 has helped over 110,000 students become college and career ready—and we’re committed to serving another 110,000 students over the next 10 years. Learn more at https://brilliantpathways.org/.