Gilberts native nominated by peers, most improved

Lincoln's Challenge Academy Class 43 graduates Dec. 11

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SPRINGFIELD, IL (12/12/2014)(readMedia)-- RANTOUL, Ill. – Spencer Lange of Gilberts, Illinois, spent the last five months improving himself at Lincoln's Challenge Academy (LCA) in Rantoul. His peers nominated him as the most improved cadet in his team and named the valedictorian during the academy's graduation ceremony Dec. 11 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois.

"The program has changed my life for the better in several different ways," said Lange.

Lange plans to be an artist and apply to the Art Institute of Chicago after LCA.

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.

Spencer Lange of Gilberts, Illinois, spent the last five months improving himself at Lincoln's Challenge Academy (LCA) in Rantoul. His peers nominated him as the most improved cadet in his team and named the valedictorian during the academy's graduation ceremony Dec. 11 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Aleah M. Castrejon, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)