In 2003, the University of Central Florida began a Transition to Mathematics and Science Teaching (T-MAST) program, a one-year, fast-track program that prepares and certifies bachelor's degree holders who will work as teachers in a job-sharing paid internship, while completing a Master of Arts degree in middle grades (5-9) mathematics education or science education. The program was grounded in a large body of research that has identified extensive mentoring, induction support, and reflective practice to be components of a high quality program. T-MAST is a program designed to help address the shortage of highly qualified and certified teachers of middle school science and mathematics in the local public schools and provide career change teachers education course work and internship experience. This article describes the experiences of one participant as she became a middle school teacher through the alternative T-MAST route. (Contains 1 figure.)