Chicago cadet Gurrola, nominated by peers, most improved

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SPRINGFIELD, IL (12/12/2014)(readMedia)-- RANTOUL, Ill. – Uriel Gurrola of Chicago graduated from Lincoln's Challenge Academy (LCA) in Rantoul, Illinois, Dec. 11, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois, after working toward his General Educational Development (GED) diploma during the last five months, his peers nominated him as the most improved cadet in his team when he graduated.

"LCA has made me a better person," said Gurrola. "LCA made me become a young man and I'm proud I have changed."

LCA Class 43 began in July with 389 cadets and graduated with 235 cadets, which is 60 percent of the initial class.

Lincoln's Challenge Academy is administered by the Illinois National Guard and is the largest single-site Challenge program in the nation. More than 14,000 cadets have graduated since its launch in 1993; the most in the United States. The academy takes "at-risk" youth from throughout Illinois who have dropped out of traditional high school and places them in a rigorous disciplined quasi-military environment for 22 weeks at the academy's campus on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. The resident phase is followed by a year-long, post-resident phase where the gradates return to their communities and are paired with mentors.

Uriel Gurrola of Chicago graduates from Lincoln's Challenge Academy (LCA) in Rantoul, Illinois, Dec. 11, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois, after working toward his General Educational Development (GED) diploma during the last five months, his peers nominated him as the most improved cadet in his team when he graduated. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Aleah M. Castrejon, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)