D.C. Guard's Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy graduation will be at the University of DC Saturday

Speakers include D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau

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Members of the DC Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Academy present the colors at Mayor Bowser's first State of the District Address. A graduation for cadets will be at UDC at 10 a.m. this Saturday.

WASHINGTON, DC (06/18/2015)(readMedia)-- A graduation ceremony for cadets from the D.C. National Guard's Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy will be in the Theater of the Arts Building at the University of the District of Columbia at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 20. D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, are scheduled to speak at the ceremony.

What: Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy Commencement Ceremony

When: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 20

Where: University of the District of Columbia, Theater of the Arts Building, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

The 34 graduating cadets are members of the Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Laurel Md., a former youth detention center turned into a 12 building, state-of-the art educational campus. A partnership between the D.C. National Guard and the District of Columbia created the academy in 2013 after completion of more than $10 million in renovations.

The Youth ChalleNGe program is designed to give teenagers who have not completed a regular high school program a second chance. The 4-month residential phase focuses on Graduation Equivalency Exam preparation courses, discipline, physical fitness and leadership.

The cadets will move into the post-residential phase, which gives support with job-hunting, college admission and attendance, military service or other options open to the students.

The students were given the option to participate in extracurricular activities to foster their education, discipline and job exploration. One popular club teaches critical thinking skills through 3D design and modeling, using a 3D printer. Other options included participating in the yearbook, drama, student government, football, basketball and soccer.

The academy, which hosts two classes a year, has a capacity for 200 cadets.