Cadet Cole Johnson from Class 52, Recently enlisted into the United States Army. His MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) will be 11X Infantry, he hopes to continue his training and become an Army Ranger. He will be attending Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, GA.

His mom had this to say about ChalleNGe:

I heard about the fantastic opportunity of “Challenge Youth Academy”  from a friend from another state.   I mentioned wishing that my state of VA offered something like that and my friend promptly advised that every state offers it!   After checking into Challenge, I quickly saw an opportunity to give my son an incredible opportunity to pursue some much-needed resources for his future.  

My son,  Cole, was homeschooled since elementary school and felt he needed more social interaction and structure in his life.  He was always a very well-behaved, well-mannered child, but didn’t have the exposure that the traditional schools allowed and really lacked time management skills and motivation.   

The process to sign up was simple and everyone was very helpful and informative.   The program itself gave him the ability to pursue his education at a much faster rate and also gave him exposure to what things are available after graduation.  With speakers from a multitude of different backgrounds and careers, the cadets were given a snapshot of different possibilities for them to consider that may match up to their own interests and abilities for their career choice.    

The leaders and the instructors care about our children!  They devote a lot of time and energy to the cadets because they have a passion for making a difference in the lives of children.   They are pouring into our children just to see them succeed & they do this service without proper recognition or commensurate pay.  

With this program, my son, Cole, has decided to pursue a career in the US Army.   We are a military family, but my son did not have any interest, prior to CHALLENGE, in going into the military.   I credit CHALLENGE for helping Cole to accomplish his educational goals and most importantly, plan for a successful future.    The CHALLENGE leaders are very ardent about these cadets planning for the future and always looking forward to the next opportunity to make themselves better.    They have really helped my son and I wish that more teens, and parents, in need of such a program took advantage of this opportunity to help our children become the best version of themselves possible!    

BRAVO Challenge Youth Academy, BRAVO!   Job well done!