Tarheel ChalleNGe Graduation Ceremony

RALEIGH, NC (12/09/2010)(readMedia)-- The North Carolina National Guard's Tarheel ChalleNGe Academy is scheduled to graduate 111 cadets Friday at the Sampson County Agri-Exposition Center.

The NCNG's Tarheel ChalleNGe Academy is a structured program (much like a military basic training) for high school dropouts or expellees, according to the Tarheel ChalleNGe website. The program focuses on providing youth with the discipline and life skills necessary to be productive members of society. The Tarheel ChalleNGe Academy is a program in which to attend the cadet must volunteer for the training. There is no cost to the cadet or the cadet's family other than personal items, and there are no military obligations for attending the academy.

As of June 2010, there have been 2,990 cadets who have graduated the program. About 90 percent of academy graduates remained gainfully placed (i.e., in school, working, or in the military) for at least a year after graduation.