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

Speakers include Mayor Vincent Gray and Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau

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Drill team members from the Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy present the colors during a recent Washington Nationals baseball game. Cadets will graduate during a ceremony at UDC Saturday.

WASHINGTON, DC (06/12/2014)(readMedia)-- A graduation ceremony for cadets from the D.C. Guard's Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy will be in the Theater of the Arts at the University of the District of Columbia at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14. Mayor Vincent Gray and Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, are scheduled to speak at the ceremony.

What: Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy graduation

When: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14

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

The 51 cadets are members of the Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy at Oak Hill, Md., a rehabilitated detention center turned into a 16 building, state-of-the art educational campus. A partnership between the D.C. National Guard and the District created the new academy a year ago after completion of about $6 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 through 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 yearbook, drama, student government, football, basketball and soccer.

Now that the new D.C. facility is up and running, the program hosts two classes a year at a capacity of 236 youth annually.