When I was selected to the first ever Rhode Island Teaching Fellows cohort, I was positively thrilled. Based on the interview process, I was hopeful that it would be far more than just a way to bypass the traditional route to teacher certification (contrary to what you may have heard, the primary purpose of the certification process is to protect union members by keeping career changers out). Before summer institute started, my hopes were validated. The printed materials we were given were excellent, and the expectations for our work were very high. This was clearly going to be a highly productive training program. And so it was. We taught summer school each morning, then were off to institute for the afternoon and then had to fit our lesson planning into the brief amount of time we had left in our days. The best way to describe the experience is that it was boot camp for teachers. It was exhausting, and I’ve never worked so hard in my life. All the while, I could see the value in it, and that’s what kept me going. It’s an excellent research-based program run by talented teachers that have put the program into practice. And the speed and rigor of the instruction was at a very high level, which was only possible because of the hand-picked nature of the cohort. As great as the program is, the best thing about my summer experience was the great new friends I’ve made. My fellow fellows (“fellows squared” in math terms) are amazing people, and I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged to a group as much as I do with them. After our graduation, we arranged an impromptu “after party” at my apartment that was a blast. I’m an old man in this group, but even with the age differences I know I’ve made friends for life with some of my fellows. It’s been an experience I wouldn’t trade for any amount of money. Next: Getting hired to teach.