Over the course of two and a half years, students at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a network and security research group that combines presentations, classes, and projects to produce highly skilled student researchers in a very short period of time. Their program exists independent of any official curriculum and is designed to combine self-motivated students’ desire to learn with an environment that allows them to exercise on that knowledge. This paper details the evolution and current structure of the group. It is intended for educators and students interested in creating similar organizations.