FORT McCOY, Wis. — Cadets at the Wisconsin National Guard’s Challenge Academy got some extra motivation the week of Dec. 3 as they prepared to graduate from the 22-week residential phase of the program.
FORT MCCOY, Wis. — Three members of the Green Bay Packers football team paid a visit to the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy Nov. 28 to offer words of encouragement and guidance to cadets there.
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Lambeau Field, home of the fabled Green Bay Packers, has many stories to tell of overcoming adversity and achieving greatness.Approximately 100 Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets heard individual stories of overcoming personal adversities from Green Bay Packers players and staff during a Dec. 15 visit. Challenge Academy is a program for teens at risk of not graduating high school, and uses a quasi-military setting to instill core values that help cadets make better life choices. The Green Bay Packers have provided positive motivation to Challenge Academy cadets either at Lambeau Field or at the academy campus at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, for the past several years.
MAUSTON, Wis. - One hundred teens once at risk of not graduating high school stood ready to take back control of their lives following the completion of a 22-week residential program at the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy."Cadets of Class 35, today is your day," said Kevin Greenwood, Wisconsin Challenge Academy director.
One hundred cadets from 39 counties will graduate from the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy in a noon ceremony Saturday (Dec. 19) at Mauston High School in Mauston, Wisconsin.The Challenge Academy re-shapes the lives of at-risk 16-to-18-year-olds. It uses a structured, military-style environment and state-certified teachers and counselors to build cadets’ academic abilities, character, self-confidence, and personal discipline.
MAUSTON, Wis. - The 33rd class of the Wisconsin National Guard's Challenge Academy celebrated its graduation at Mauston High School Dec. 20.A testament to the "challenge" aspect of Challenge Academy, 107 of the 169 at-risk teenagers - 63 percent - who began the course July 24 walked across the stage to receive their diplomas.
FORT MCCOY, Wis. — Back-to-school activities came early — July 23 — for more than 150 high-school-aged teens from communities across the state.Seeking to make significant and positive changes in their lives, these teens traded in the last few weeks of summer vacation, free time and privacy for a shot at redeeming wasted opportunities — a seat in the 22-week Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy.
One hundred and three at-risk teens from counties across Wisconsin graduated from a challenging 22-week program June 11 with the tools to make better life decisions and persevere through problems.The Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy takes teens out of an environment where bad choices were easy to make, and houses them for more than five months at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. The quasi-military setting builds positive values through physical and mental discipline, and transforms at-risk teens into cadets.Roland Pechie, a senior team leader at Challenge Academy and keynote speaker for the June 11 graduation ceremony at Mauston High School in Mauston, Wisconsin, used a rock quarry metaphor to explain the tough environment the teens came from and the condition in which they arrived — a mass of imperfect rock.
One hundred and four cadets from 40 counties will graduate from the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy June 11 during a noon ceremony at Mauston High School in Mauston, Wisconsin.Challenge Academy intervenes in the lives of 16-18-year-old Wisconsin youth at risk of not graduating high school. The 22-week quasi-military residential program at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin offers motivated and committed teens an opportunity to earn a high school equivalency degree (HSED), develop life skills, clarify values and strengthen relationships with family and community. Upon graduating the residential phase, Challenge Academy cadets are paired with hometown mentors for guidance and encouragement as they pursue a new direction in life.
