A coalition of East Alabama school districts, colleges and industry partners created a regional cybersecurity pathway that has expanded student access to internships, certifications and postsecondary pipelines. Lincoln High School students who completed the program are matriculating into local universities and earning CompTIA credentials; the East Alabama Regional Cybersecurity Alliance now serves more than 33,000 students. Program architects say the model addresses the national shortage of cyber talent—Alabama reports 8,000 open cybersecurity roles—and demonstrates how rural regions can retain tech workers by linking high-school training to local employers and university programs. For higher-education workforce planners, the alliance offers a replicable framework for scaling apprenticeships, shared curricula, teacher professional development and employer-aligned credentialing in under-resourced regions.