What if the revolution in education isn’t just about policy or paperwork—but about seeing someone fully, without pity, and showing up with consistency and compassion?
Welcome back to Beyond the Quo—the podcast where we dismantle outdated narratives of success, leadership, and fulfillment. I’m your host, Stacey Luces—executive coach, reinvention strategist, and founder of the Living Beyond Movement.
For over two decades, I’ve walked with leaders through burnout, breakdowns, and bold reinventions. And one thing I’ve learned? Transformation rarely starts with a checklist—it starts with a whisper. A moment. A mentor. Someone who sees more in you than you’ve been taught to see in yourself.
And today’s guest is the embodiment of that truth.
Meet Christine Sylvain—TEDx speaker, community builder, and award-winning founder of Path to College, a nonprofit on a mission to close the college access gap for high-potential, low-income students.
But Christine doesn’t just talk equity—she builds it. As the mixed-race daughter of an immigrant, she knows what it means to navigate identity, scarcity, and systems that weren’t built for everyone. She took that experience and turned it into something transformative—from the inside out.
In this conversation, we talk about:
• Education that empowers, not just evaluates.
• Burnout recovery and boundary-setting.
• Reparenting ourselves after decades of over-functioning.
• The link between personal wellness and collective change.
• And how mentorship can be the spark that redefines a life—not by fixing, but by seeing.
This episode is deeply human. It’s full of heart, truth, and tangible takeaways. If you're in the work of impact, leadership, or just raising the next generation—this one’s for you.
So grab your journal, your favorite cup of whatever, and let’s get into it.
🌍 Want more conversations like this?
Join the Rising Beyond Power Collective—our free global community for women leaders who are done playing small and ready to redefine success on their own terms:
👉 https://www.skool.com/risingbeyondglobalcommunity/about


💡 Key Takeaways:
• High Achievement Looks Different in Marginalized Communities
Christine redefines achievement—not by GPA, but by grit. Her students often juggle part-time jobs, care for siblings, and translate medical paperwork—all while navigating school. That’s excellence.
• Mentorship and Belonging Change Lives
It’s not a single scholarship that creates success—it’s consistent care. Christine’s long-term, trauma-informed mentorship model cultivates safety, confidence, and generational ripple effects.
• You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Lead Powerfully
Christine let go of the myth that leaders must be polished. Her openness about divorce, burnout, and healing has only deepened her impact—and made her leadership magnetic.
• Stress Isn’t the Enemy—Disconnection Is
Stress can shape us. But chronic stress, isolation, and survival mode? That breaks us. This episode unpacks how rest, community, and values-based living are non-negotiables for sustainability.
🔥 Feeling inspired? Don’t keep it to yourself.
Subscribe, share, and rate Beyond the Quo five stars. Let’s amplify voices, disrupt the status quo, and lead lives that are truly our own.
✨ Connect with Stacey Luces
• Free Global Community: Rising Beyond Power Collective
📩 Connect with Christine Sylvain
• LinkedIn/Instagram: @citizenchristine @pathtocollege
• Website: www.pathtocollege.org

Beyond Permission: Owning Your Power and Your Next Move with Stacey Luces
“If you repeat the same day for 80 years… what kind of life is that? Because that’s what ‘good enough’ turns into.”
In the first episode of Beyond the Quo for 2025 Stacey Luces dives deep into embracing 'main character energy' and stepping out of supporting roles in our own lives. Stacey addresses common feelings of reflection and resolution at the beginning of the year, urging us to live authentically, redefine success, and lead courageously. This episode touches on the pitfalls of remaining passive in life, the importance of making intentional, consequence-driven decisions, and practical steps to regain autonomy over one's schedule, health, and personal boundaries. Ideal for those looking to break free from complacency and truly own their narrative in 2026.
🎧 In this episode:
• 00:56 Playing a Supporting Role in Your Own Life
• 02:14 Embracing Main Character Energy
• 05:08 The Power of Personal Promises
• 06:22 Curating Your Circle and Growth
• 15:26 Moving Beyond the Status Quo
• 26:29 Signs You're in Support Role Energy
• 32:23 Reclaiming Main Character Energy
💡 Key Takeaways:
• Resentment is information, not a character flaw. When you feel resentment, numbness, or “tired but I slept,” it’s a signal that you’re out of alignment and likely self-abandoning somewhere.
• Main character energy is a leadership concept, not a vibe. It’s authorship. It shows up in real decisions about boundaries, health, relationships, standards, and who gets access to you.
• Your life is shaped by your schedule and your standards. Things don’t slow down by accident. You slow them down through decisions. Raise the standard, stop over-explaining, have the overdue conversation, and choose what matters most.
You’ve already done the quo—now it’s time to go beyond.
🔥 Feeling inspired? Don’t keep it to yourself!
• Subscribe, share and follow Beyond the Quo and I’d deeply appreciate your five-star rating so more people can listen and learn!
✨ Connect with Stacey: staceyluces.com IG @ Stacey.Luces LinkedIn @StaceyLuces

“Grownups can be dream killers.” A stop-you-in-your-tracks truth that opens a deeper conversation about courage, safety, and choosing possibility again.
In the final episode of Beyond the Quo for 2025, Stacey Luces sits down with Yulimar Trumbo, an investor in the future of entrepreneurs and a world-class sales facilitator who has worked across 40+ countries with Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and government sectors. Together, they close the year with honesty, humor, and depth, exploring what 2025 revealed and what 2026 can become.
They unpack why intentions create alignment while resolutions often create pressure, why authentic connection matters more than proximity, and how protecting your time is really about protecting your life. Through personal stories about family, entrepreneurship, partnership, and change, they discuss leading yourself first, trusting what your body knows, and building “a new same page” in relationships and communities.
🎧 In this episode:
• 02:39 Intentions vs. resolutions
• 05:06 Decisions that shaped the last decade
• 10:47 Protecting your time and saying no
• 26:24 Dreams, courage, and refusing to shrink
• 29:07 Youth, innovation, and social entrepreneurship
• 39:36 Relationships, loneliness, and real connection
💡 Key Takeaways:
• Intentions create alignment. Resolutions create pressure. Intentions invite your spirit to rise toward what’s possible. Resolutions demand compliance. This episode reframes the New Year as alignment, not self-correction.
• “No” is autonomy in motion. Practice it early and often. Self-betrayal starts small. If you override yourself in minor moments, you’ll override yourself when the stakes are higher. Boundaries are built in the everyday.
• Courage must be protected or it will be negotiated away. “Grownups can be dream killers” isn’t an accusation. It’s a warning. When safety becomes the goal, imagination shrinks. Courage is the cost of a future that’s truly yours.
• Transformation begins with a new internal language. Words like sacrifice, balance, guilt, and control quietly drain power. Replacing them with center, integration, responsibility, equanimity, and surrender changes how you lead, love, and choose.
You’ve already done the quo—now it’s time to go beyond.
🔥 Feeling inspired? Don’t keep it to yourself!
• Subscribe, share and follow Beyond the Quo and I’d deeply appreciate your five-star rating so more people can listen and learn!
✨ Connect with Stacey: staceyluces.com IG @ Stacey.Luces LinkedIn @StaceyLuces
✨ Connect with Yuli: LinkedIn @yulimar-trumbo