Courtesy Photo | Pvt. Caleb Collier from Wilmore, Ky., receives his high school diploma from Patriot...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Brad Staggs
BUTLERVILLE, Ind. - Tracie Collier could not make herself stop crying.
Every time that the proud mother from Nicholasville, Ky., thought about her son, Pvt. Caleb Collier, receiving his high school diploma, the tears would start again … not for her son, but for the father who didn’t live to see his son graduate.
“I can’t even come up with the words for how proud I am of him,” Collier said through the sniffles. “Never thought I’d see the day and his Dad would be proud.”
The 2nd Patriot Academy graduation was the culmination of hard work on the part of the students, Soldiers who were given a second chance by the Army National Guard to earn an Indiana accredited high school diploma.
High school drop-outs are recruited from all 54 states and territories and given the chance to make something better of themselves by serving their country and state while getting a much-needed education. Brig. Gen. Clif Tooley, Indiana Assistant Adjutant General, told the assembled students and parents in his key-note speech that the drop-out rate in America isn’t just an alarming statistic; it’s a national security threat.
“We cannot ignore these young people in today’s world,” Tooley said. “We have to help these kids become students, become soldiers, become productive members of society wherever they go. The Patriot Academy is designed to do just that.”
In order to graduate from the Patriot Academy, students must do more than simple homework … they must be working soldiers while going to school, learning warrior tasks and completing no less than 8 hours of community service. Most not only do the minimum required of them, they excel for the first time in their lives.
Col. Perry Sarver, commandant of the Patriot Academy, believes that the attention paid to the students by the school cadre is key to its success. “We don’t just send them to school and forget them,” Sarver says. “We help them with daily life, getting them help in any area they need. The cadre know these students like their own kids.”
Minor changes were brought about between the first and second class at the Patriot Academy, but no change has a more lasting effect than the addition of female students. In their second year, a female was valedictorian, Pvt. Adath Allen of Arizona, and another held the highest physical training score in the school, Pvt. Amber Fleming with an extended PT score of 327.
“The females really showed the males up this time around,” Sarver continued. “it was good to watch the men realize they weren’t the only ones who could do the job.”
Arizona not only managed to have the top student, but the salutatorian, Pvt. Jeffrie Ashcraft, as well. Arizona Recruiting and Retention Commander Lt. Col. Cosme Lopez, who made the trip to Indiana to watch his Soldiers receive their diplomas and other accolades, couldn’t be happier with the showing from his state.
“This is amazing,” Lopez declared. “Right now, we have about 19 waiting in the pipeline through the Patriot Academy. So for us in Arizona, we really appreciate and find that this organization, the program itself, is worthy of sending soldiers to.”
Vernon, Ind., Mayor Dan Wright was happy to attend the ceremony in order to support the activities of the Patriot Academy in his backyard. As part of their community service time, students from the Patriot Academy had traveled to Vernon in order to build a playground for community children. “I get excited when I see these kids out here having a life-changing experience and graduating from school,” He said following the ceremony. “They look excited by their future and that makes me excited.”
As valedictorian of the class, Allen was encouraged by the Academy cadre to keep up her studies which was the push she says she needed to get through her schooling. “In a regular public school, it was too hard for me to stay focused. Here, it’s all about the discipline and doing yourself an honor by getting the work done,” Allen said, holding her valedictorian plaque tightly. “The cadre won’t do your work for you, they won’t do your community service for you, they don’t give you answers, but they give you all the help you need. You get out of this place what you put in. You really do here.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2010 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 56931 |
| Location: | BUTLERVILLE, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 231 |
| Downloads: | 13 |
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