Lydia's college said she couldn't graduate early. So she read the policies herself, wrote to the dean, and answered her questions with a plan — the same analyst's instinct that now has her improving service at WMATA. She graduated a semester early and spent that time on the internship that launched her career. "I'd rather challenge myself to learn something new than say 'I can't do it.'"

Community college and certificates aren't a fallback. Some of the D.C. region's most in-demand, well-paying jobs run straight through these credentials, and too few people are trained to fill them