Cadet Hill graduated from CCYA in August of 2016. The leadership, motivation, and discipline he gained while attending CCYA propelled him into the United States Army. He enlisted into the United States Army as a Communications Repair Specialist (94E). Shortly after completing his training, he deployed to the Middle East, during his deployment he continued to excel and was promoted to the rank of Specialist. He and his mother have attributed his success to the coaching, mentoring, and leadership of the Commonwealth ChalleNGe Staff. He was recently promoted to the rank of Sergeant (E5) earning the distinguished title of Non-Commissioned Officer.

A quote from Cadet Hill’s mother Katrina Strand “I’m truly blessed for the journey he took while at ChalleNGe as it helped him grown a bit and mature. Continue to mentor and build up our young men. To those considering or entering the process… TRUST THE PROCESS!!”

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!  

Cadet LaPara from Class 51 hit the ground running when he graduated from Commonwealth ChalleNGe. He returned to his high school and graduated. Upon graduation he was accepted into Florida Southwestern State College. He is also working and enjoying the sun in the Sunshine State.

A quote from his mother about Commonwealth ChalleNGe, “Cadet Nicholas LaPara, class of 51, Wolfpack. Thank you Commonwealth ChalleNGe for helping to turn my son around and give him the confidence he needed to push himself and move forward in life.”

We are excited for our Class 52 graduate Cadet Reyes. He has recently enlisted in the United States Army and is attending Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is building on the success he had at Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy. He was a Gold Phase Cadet, and earned many awards from the staff and teacher for his hard work.

Cadet Sheridan was falling behind in school. She was lying, stealing and giving her teachers a hard time, just so she could go hang out with friends. One day, she came to the realization she needed to make a change. That change was the Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy.

Cadet Sheridan quickly adjusted to ChalleNGe, joining clubs such as the Drill Team, and was even Captain of the ChalleNGe Invitational Trivia Team.

Cadet Sheridan took her GED early, and passed with the highest score in the Class, earning Valedictorian honors. With extra time on her hands before ChalleNGe graduation, she even volunteered for extra Service to Community.

While at ChalleNGe, Cadet Sheridan also took her ASVAB, and scored very highly. Upon graduation, she joined the Coast Guard, where she was recently promoted.

Challenge changed my life for the better. I went on to do things I wanted to do, including criminal justice classes, and now I have a career in the Security field,
Class 42 1st Platoon, Gold Phase Cadet Taylor

It was a great program that gave me a second chance and gave me the second chance to finish high school and to graduate.

Challenge changed my life. I met numerous inspirational people, some of whom I still communicate with to this day. Excellent program for our misguided youth. A little tough in the beginning but very worth it all in the end, which is synonymous with life. I’m a graduate of Class 31.

I was a former cadet here in Class 26 Challenge taught me a lot of leadership, discipline etc. I was in the second platoon. At first I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody, but as the months passed, we all became brothers in arms. We stayed together, we marched together, we prayed together and we graduated together. We also were the first class that had a drum corps and I was the one playing the bass drum and I’m glad that, to this day, they continue to still do the drum corps. Commonwealth Challenge in VA Beach is the best place to help the young people. It will teach you leadership and discipline and so much more. It helped me to be a better person.