Project GRAD Los Angeles works to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who enroll in and graduate from college. Founded on the belief that college is a public good that should be accessible for everyone, Project GRAD has been helping students in grades 6 through 16 in the northeast San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles navigate the path to college success since 1999. Our organization has successfully operated in the second largest school district in the nation through five LAUSD Superintendent tenures and multiple successive system-wide budget cuts. Despite systemic challenges, our reputation for improving college-going and college readiness has allowed the organization to persist at school sites where we are recognized as a high-functioning, trusted collaborator. The Project GRAD model has been recognized nationally for its success in increasing the number of first generation college-goers and was adopted into the Higher Education Act of 2008 as a reform model to replicate. At the eight school sites where Project GRAD is embedded, we champion the college aspirations of all students, hosting numerous school-wide college awareness and access activities. Our offices on campuses serve as drop-in college centers, open to all students before, during, and after school.