This chapter describes how sustained mentoring together with rigorous collaborative learning and community building contributed to successful mathematical research and individual growth in the Applied Mathematical Sciences Summer Institute (AMSSI), a program that focused on women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals from small teaching institutions who might not have had the opportunity to do research otherwise. The collective learning and developmental experiences of AMSSI's cofounders as students, teaching assistants, and faculty in other research programs, together with their humble upbringings and cultural histories, are what define the unique structure and mentoring blueprint of AMSSI.