Photo By Scott Sturkol | Cadets in the Wisconsin Challenge Academy participate in training Oct. 11, 2023, on...... read more read more
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Cadets with the Wisconsin Challenge Academy were out participating in training Oct. 11 on the cantonment area at Fort McCoy.
Cadets with the current class, class 51, often move about the installation in their companies for exercise and team-building training and activities, and more, according to the academy.
The Challenge Academy is a Fort McCoy tenant organization, and according to its website, https://challengeacademy.org, offers youth the opportunity to change the direction of their lives and develop the strength of character and life skills necessary to become successful, responsible citizens.
"Founded in 1998 and located at Fort McCoy, the Wisconsin Challenge Academy is an alternative education program designed to reclaim the lives of at-risk youth and produce graduates with the values, skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults," the website states. "The academy is part of the (Wisconsin) National Guard Youth Challenge Program, a community-based program that leads, trains, and mentors 16–18-year-olds so that they may become productive citizens in America’s future."
The program begins with a 5 1/2-month residential phase, followed by a one-year, post-residential phase.
The Challenge Academy is currently observing its 25th year of operations. In an article by the academy's Outreach Coordinator Julee Katona in January about the anniversary at https://ng.wi.gov/news/23007, it states that since the program started, "4,454 at-risk youth have graduated from the Challenge Academy, and 3,538 cadets earned a high school equivalency degree."
Also in the article, Katona wrote that more than 4,776 mentors for Challenge Academy cadets have been trained statewide since the program began, including "more than 1,000 over the past five years alone."
Academy cadets in recent years have also helped improve many community areas around Fort McCoy, too. They've improved hiking trails at Pine View Recreation Area, assisted with grounds maintenance and improvement at the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area, and even helped plant trees around Arbor Day.
In 2020, Fort McCoy Commissary Officer Cindy Perry had offered high praise to academy cadets for their community work at the commissary.
“I can’t say enough about how grateful I am for the quality work these young people have done,” Perry said. “There was really no way our store would have been able to do this project, but they stepped up and did outstanding work.
“And I’m especially impressed with the way they went about their work,” Perry said. “It was with military precision. I’ve worked with youth and young adults, and usually there’s some horsing around with these types of community projects, but that wasn’t the case here. The group I saw showed up, attentively followed instructions, and tackled the project in an organized manner. They quickly dug out the area for the rock and sanitized the carts in about two hours.
“I want people to know that the work done greatly improves the outward appearance of our store, and that goes a long way to making shopping at the Fort McCoy Commissary a more pleasant experience for our customers. It was an important job well done,” she said.
The current class began their training in the summer and will continue into December 2023. Learn more about the Wisconsin Challenge Academy by visiting https://challengeacademy.org.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2023 18:07 |
| Story ID: | 456260 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 564 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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