School leadership matters when discussing teacher effectiveness and student performance, and preparation programs need to graduate principals with the skills necessary to lead schools for tomorrow. The traditional approach to preparing educational leaders is no longer getting the job done. In this article, Meija, Devin and Calvert, students who completed a Kansas State University-District Partnership Academy as part of their professional development, speak to the experience of being a student in the academy. They comment on connections between their learning experiences and the leadership roles they have assumed in the years after the academy. After reflecting on their own experiences and reaching out to other former academy students, Meija, Devin and Calvert found that the partnership master's academies inspired high levels of confidence and professional growth in students, and at the same time helped the students think systemically as members of a larger organization.