Alvin F. Sherman, Jr. (known as Lin) was born in Mesa, AZ and raised on a dairy farm in Chandler, AZ. After graduating from Chandler High School and attending one year at Mesa Community College, Lin was called to serve in the Chile Santiago South Mission (1978-1980). Shortly after returning home he began his studies at Brigham Young University, majoring in Public Relations. Though determined to "make it rich" in the world of P.R., Lin decided to continue developing his Spanish language skills and pursued a second major in Spanish. In 1985, after careful consideration, Lin decided to pursue a master's degree in Spanish at Brigham Young University. In 1987 he entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia with a Dupont Fellowship.

In 1990 Lin graduated from U.Va. and accepted a position at Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID, where he taught language and literature until 1999, the year he accepted a position at Brigham Young University.

Aside from teaching SPAN 339 and 441, he also teaches courses in Medieval, Enlightenment and Romantic literature. He has published on a number of writers from the 18th and 19th-centuries, including Sor Gregoria Francisca de Santa Teresa, Jovellanos, Moratín, Feijoo, Torres Villarroel, Larra, Espronceda, Ventura de la Vega and Breton de los Herreros.