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    The ChalleNGe: Graduation (Part 5 of 5)

    The ChalleNGe: Graduation

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Darron Salzer | High school diploma in hand, Christopher Ramirez, right, is all emotions as Cpl. Kurt...... read more read more

    BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES

    08.17.2016

    Story by Staff Sgt. Darron Salzer 

    National Guard Bureau

    Editor's note: This is part five of a five-part series on the National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe program.

    A contagious energy floated through Baltimore's Fifth Regiment Armory, electrifying the semi-hushed conversations of the large group gathered in the armory's expansive drill hall. There was a joyful buzz as people shuffled to their seats, some looking around in anticipation and others smiling and taking it all in.

    Cadets from the Maryland National Guard's Freestate ChalleNGe Academy felt it too as they lined up in a nearby stairway. Their raucous laughter and amped up conversations echoed from the stairway's tiled walls as cadre members stepped in with quick reminders to settle down.

    Containing that sort of energy on this, of all days, was difficult for many of the cadets. Today was the day they had been working toward and the culmination of 22 weeks of pushups, early mornings, non-stop schoolwork and ever-present cadre members. Today was their day—graduation day.

    With a sharp command from cadre, the cadets marched into the drill hall past parents, family members and friends, sounding off one last cadence and stealing glances as they paraded passed loved ones before taking their seats.

    "The last day was so exhilarating," said Ronny Colindres, an academy cadet. "Everyone was so excited. Everyone was singing, everyone was happy."

    Ronny noted how many more smiles he saw on the other cadets compared to their first day 22 weeks earlier, adding it was a remarkable sight.

    "On our last day, the mood, the aura, was so happy and cheerful," he said

    Graduation is also an emotional day for Charles Rose, the academy director.

    "There's so much [excitement] here and you just feel overwhelmed with pride and joy for what these kids have accomplished," he said, reflecting on what many of the cadets were like when they first came to the program.

    "Some of them came in very bold, and they thought they knew what [to expect] but they really didn't comprehend what they were about to experience," said Rose, adding many newly-arrived cadets were apprehensive or scared.

    Master Sgt. Robert Triplett, the lead cadre instructor, agreed and said some cadets began with a rough start.

    "A lot of them were withdrawn and didn't know how to speak up or express themselves," Triplett said. "If they did express themselves, a lot of them did it negatively."

    The initial two-week acclimation phase of the program was as a wake-up call for many of those cadets, said Rose, adding that the change to a very structured environment resulted in complaints from many cadets, as it does with nearly every class.

    "Waking up at five o'clock in the morning will do that to you," he said, emphasizing that the structure serves a larger purpose of building discipline in the cadets as well as keeping them focused on the task at hand.

    "As they've transitioned over the [past] 22 weeks, slowly but surely we saw the lights start to flicker and then to go on," said Rose.

    Each cadet, stressed Rose, has changed for the better.

    "When they come across [the stage], you shake their hand and look them in the eye and you can see a different person than what we saw 154 days ago," Rose said, adding many stand more confident in themselves and their abilities, while others have a more solid sense of who they are and a strong focus on the future.

    As part of the graduation ceremony, cadets stood at key moments as a way to mark their future plans. Some had aims for college or trade school, while others intended to enter the military or go directly into the work force. No matter their individual plans, more importantly, said Rose, every cadet had a plan.

    "That's huge," he said, adding that at the start of the program many cadets had no future plans or sense of how to move forward if they did have a goal.

    "We have assisted each cadet with either getting a job, getting into the military, getting into college or something along those lines," said Rose, emphasizing the graduating cadets have been given the tools to succeed.

    "It's now up to them to take what they've learned here … and apply that to life," he said.

    That's one of the overarching tenets of the program.

    "The thing we want them to understand is that life is not a straight and narrow road with no road blocks," said Rose. "You're going to experience roadblocks, you're going to experience hazards, but the question is 'how do you get above and beyond that to where you need to be?'"

    For many academy cadets, that starts with a high school diploma. Of the graduating cadets, 40 percent earned their diploma, something many in the class may not have been able to do outside of the program, said Rose.

    "They were either expelled from school and could not go back, or they were off track to graduate and by the time they got back on track … they may have been too old to get their high school diploma," he said.

    Those cadets who did not earn their diploma during the residence phase will have the opportunity to retake the GED exam and earn their diplomas at a later date.

    Graduates will now begin the 12-month post-residential phase of the program, where they will work toward meeting the goals they outlined during the residential phase. Both their mentors and academy staff will work with them to ensure they're on track.

    "We will track them very, very closely for the next 12 months and their mentors will work with them as well," said Rose. "Between their life coping skills, their mentors and the case managers working with them, they have a much better opportunity to experience success and to succeed than they had when they came here five and a half months ago."

    For Ronny Colindres, the memories and emotions of that first day are still vivid.

    "The first day, I admit, was very terrifying," he said. "I remember the day before I came, I was nervous, scared, shaking because I was coming into something new. I automatically hated it, right off the bat. Everything."

    Over time, however, the program helped him learn a few things about himself.

    "I honestly thought that I would never be a leader," he said. "I used to think that I was just the kid in the back of the classroom, quiet. But, I'm a kid that likes to make a stand, be heard and be a voice of the people. I'm definitely a leader."

    Ronny hopes to use those skills as an aircraft mechanic.

    "It's going to be hard, but the things that are always worth it are always going to be hard," he said.

    Going through Freestate was tough, Ronny said, but sticking through it meant achieving one of his goals: earning his high school diploma.

    "Today will be the first day that I can actually be a role model for my brothers and sisters," he said. "I'll be able to impact them more."

    Alexis Head, another cadet from the academy, said thanks to the academy her future looks brighter.

    "Being at Freestate has made me more mature and given me a whole new mindset," she said, adding that she hopes to obtain her certified nursing assistant certification.

    Graduation day marked a beginning for many of the cadets.

    "I feel like this is the beginning of my life," Ronny said.

    For D'Wight Lucas, another academy cadet, it's a start that took him awhile to realize.

    "You can literally do anything you set your mind to as long as you devote yourself to it," he said. "It just took me some time to realize I had it in me."

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.17.2016
    Date Posted: 08.17.2016 09:59
    Story ID: 207394
    Location: BALTIMORE, MD, US

    Web Views: 55
    Downloads: 0

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