In the video above, reporter James Rolin talks with several recent graduates of the Montana Youth Challenge Academy in part three of his three-part series. Scroll down to watch parts one and two.
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- Montana State Fair performers
The Montana Youth Challenge Academy is celebrating its 25th year of helping Montana's at risk youth this year.
MYCA pushes their cadets to transform their lives. The goal is to give the cadets all of the tools, confidence, and discipline needed to be productive members of society. In the third segment on the program I sat down with three former cadets and one mentor to see how the program impacted their life.
Maverick McGee is one of those successful MYCA graduates. He summed up the outcome: "You will make bonds that you never forget and I really, really appreciate the MYCA did that for me."
It wasn’t always an easy road and there may have been challenging times, but they each have solid goals for the future.
After graduation each cadet is required to have placement in either a job, school, vocational, or military program. They continue to work with mentors to build their lives for an additional year after graduation.
Now with the hard part out of the way and graduation behind them, we'd like to extend a congratulations to the current, former, and future MYCA Cadets.
From the website:
Montana Youth Challenge Academy is a residential academic intervention program on the campus of the University of Montana Western for 16-18 year old students who are seeking an opportunity for change. Designed by the National Guard Bureau and run through a cooperative agreement between the federal government and the state of Montana, the Academy offers military-style structure and discipline along with academic, professional, and life-coping skills students need to become productive citizens. Challenge empowers participants, whom we call cadets, to embrace responsibility, achievement, and positive behavior. It instills self-confidence, fosters ambition, and increases opportunities through job skills training, service to the community, and leadership.
