The U.S. shortage of qualified nursing teachers and researchers is affecting national health care outcomes. Methods such as fast-tracking Baccalaureate nurses into graduate programs and embedding leadership development early into nursing curricula have been proposed to address faculty and research shortages. Early interest in nursing research careers increases likelihood of enrollment in graduate education. One way undergraduate nursing students may develop an interest in research careers is through a mentored apprenticeship with research-active faculty. In this thesis, the author uses an autoethnography methodology to examine the benefits that a mentored research apprenticeship model brought to her undergraduate experience. Her experience incorporated a variety of roles in an adolescent intervention program with Dr. Anne Norris (PI) at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing. Several themes about the experience were defined in the results. Early research exposure that socializes a student to the nursing research world may provide a means for addressing the nursing faculty shortage. This socialization can generate interest in a research career and promote undergraduate students with the essential tools and insights needed to pursue this career pathway. However, findings from this study suggest a student-mentor relationship early in the undergraduate education experience is essential.