LIVERMORE, Calif. - A Bay Area student is detailing her unconventional story as a first-generation college student who transferred from community college and landed at Stanford University, as she addressed "stigmas" often associated with junior college.

Leah Balakrishnan graduated from Castro Valley High School and went on to attend Las Positas College in Livermore for two years.

‘Nontraditional’ journey

This fall, she arrived at Stanford as part of a highly select group of transfer students accepted to the world-renowned, prestigious university.

Her journey to "The Farm" has received a lot of attention and was one she recognized as "nontraditional."

The Stanford Alumni Association last week shared her story , which Balakrishnan first posted on LinkedIn, saying the student's

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