I was driven to achieve National Board Certified Teacher status as a personal challenge, and to sharpen my craft. There is a strong desire to keep learning and growing, and this was the next level for me. I already have achieved two master's programs and thought the NBCT program would help me reflect more on my practice and the instruction I deliver every day. The challenges or obstacles were mostly centered around managing my time to get the tasks accomplished. For two years, there were many events I had to back out of, with family/friends, because I had to dedicate the time to National Boards instead.