In 1996, Paul Deering, now a National Middle School Association West Region Trustee and University of Hawaii professor, established the Masters Degree in Education with a Middle Level Emphasis Program (MLMED) at the University of Hawaii. The MLMED is a two-year program that focuses on five standards that encompass the research-based middle level practices promoted by NMSA's "This We Believe," and Tony Jackson and Gayle Davis' "Turning Points 2000." Not only does the program teach about middle school concepts, it applies them in and outside the classroom. Student cohorts are divided into "home bases" to develop a shared vision of student learning that encompasses student choice, differentiation, interdisciplinary units, self-reflection, and the development of social, cognitive, and emotional skills. Cohort members attend weekly seminars addressing various issues in middle level education, and collaborate on qualitative and quantitative research studies in and out of the classroom. Here, teachers and 2006 graduates of MLMED Cohort 5 reflect on how they have grown by participating in the program, and how it has influenced their professional lives.