Photo By Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman | Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy Class 21 Cadet Miyah Myles hugs cadre member and U.S....... read more read more
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by Senior Airman Crystal Housman
California National Guard Public Affairs
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – One by one, their names were called. Wearing gray fatigues and black combat boots, they crossed the stage as signs waved and the crowd cheered.
Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy, one of three National Guard ChalleNGe programs in California, presented high school diplomas or certificates of phase completion to 154 Southern California youth during a commencement ceremony for the academy’s twenty-first class, June 9, 2018, at Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos.
Rep. Grace Napolitano, of California’s 32nd district, and Rep. Lou Correa, of California’s 46th district, shook hands with each graduate on stage after delivering keynote remarks to the near-capacity crowd.
“You have made such supreme sacrifice in turning your lives around,” Napolitano told the cadets. “You have opportunities and possibilities for your future that only you can measure.”
“You’ve got to look forward and never look back,” she said. “Don’t let anybody ever tell you that you can’t achieve; the mere fact that you graduated shows you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
For each of the Class 21 cadets, the ceremony signified the completion of their five-and-a-half-month residential and academic phase of the voluntary youth challenge program. The cadets, who arrived at the academy campus at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, in January, now move on to a year-long post-residential mentoring phase to become challenge alumni. Considered “at-risk,” at the beginning of the year, the cadets are now leaner – one cadet lost nearly 60 pounds -- and more focused, more confident, and better prepared for the road ahead.
“Each cadet served in a leadership position; they learned to lead and follow their peers,” said California State Military Reserve Col. Denise Varner, who serves as Sunburst’s director. “They learned the values of discipline, honor, integrity, and commitment.”
For Cadet Nancy Ruelas, who struggled with family problems and lost her grandfather in the weeks before starting Sunburst, the program offered a path to graduation and her future.
“I saw no point in going to school,” Ruelas said during her commencement speech. “I was so far behind that all my family saw was a failure.”
Ruelas finished Sunburst’s residential and academic program with a 4.0 grade point average.
“Sunburst was me taking back control...,” she said proudly to the packed auditorium. “I have a path to college, and I’m on my way to becoming the teacher I’ve always dreamt of being.”
For Ruelas and 27 other cadets, the ceremony marked the completion of something even bigger: high school.
Through a partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, Sunburst cadets were able to attend high school during the day, while working on physical fitness, life skills, team building, and goal setting activities before and after school.
Each cadet earned at least 65 high school credits, totaling more than 10,000 credits earned by the class since they arrived in January. For some, those credits were the final push they needed to earn a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential.
“I feel overwhelmed, but I feel ready,” said high school graduate Cadet Chelsea Hammond.
Hammond, who got the keys to her first apartment the day before graduation, plans to enroll in junior college and, later, serve in the U.S. Navy.
“I’m excited for the opportunities that are being presented to me, and I’m going to take full advantage of them,” Hammond said.
Nearly two dozen of the cadets were dual-matriculated at Sunburst and Golden West College in Huntington Beach where they earned college credit in multimedia or math. Some earned credits in both.
Sunburst was founded in 2008 and is celebrating its tenth anniversary year. The academy graduates two classes annually, in June and December.
The National Guard ChalleNGe Program started nationally in 1993. Now in its 25th year, the program has 40 sites nationwide, including three in California, and has impacted the lives of more than 145,000 students.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2018 16:52 |
| Story ID: | 294537 |
| Location: | LOS ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 254 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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