Camp Minden Youth Challenge Program Sets Record

Minden, La. – The Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program is scheduled to graduate 212 cadets during a ceremony at The Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, La., July 19 at 11 a.m. The auditorium will open to the public at 10 a.m.

Vermilion Parish youth who attended were Ashley Hunt, Destiny Pontiff, Michael Schexnider, Drake Touchet, Preston Toussaint, and Cade White.

Through a partnership with Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC), and Associated Building Contractors, The Youth Challenge Program now offers students additional opportunities to further their educational goals.

This graduating class from Minden, La., includes 125 cadets who participated in the BPCC program. This cycle, a record 47 students earned 15 or more hours of transferrable college credits before graduating from the 5 ½ month residential phase. In total, the students earned 1,158 hours of college credit. Additionally, in partnership with Associated Building Contractors, 31 students completed a 90 hour NCCER course which will allow them to become certified in basic construction technology. Many students will be awarded college scholarships at the ceremony on Saturday.

This graduating class of 212 will bring the total number of Louisiana YCP graduates to 18,211 since the program began in the state 20 years ago.

On average, students entered the program testing on a 6th grade level or below. At the completion of the 5 ½ month residential phase the average increased to over a 9th grade level. 6 students improved their scores by more than 7 grade levels. More than half of the graduates earned their HiSET (high school equivalency) diploma, and 30 more students await testing results.

Lt. Jason Montgomery, deputy director of YCP at Camp Minden stated, “YCP graduations are always bitter sweet. Watching the cadets grow, from week one to week twenty two is a blessed experience. The journey has been long, and they have earned the privilege to graduate. The Youth Challenge Program changes lives, of both cadets and staff. I'm grateful just to have the opportunity to impact the lives of these young adults.”

The mission of the Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program is to intervene in and reclaim the lives of 16-18 year-old adolescents, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary in order to succeed as productive citizens.

The Youth Challenge Program offers young people an opportunity to improve their lives through participation in an innovative, alternative school.

The Youth Challenge Program is administered to participants at no cost, and all needs such as meals, bedding, classroom instruction, and uniforms are provided free of charge. This award-winning program has been recognized as one of the nation’s most effective and cost efficient programs for targeting at-risk youth.

Typically, Louisiana graduates approximately 1,400 teens a year from three locations: Camp Beauregard near Alexandria, Camp Minden near Bossier City and Gillis W. Long Center near Baton Rouge. More than 80 percent of teens that graduate this two-phase program go on to further their education, join the work force or enlist into the military.