Commonwealth ChalleNGe Class 50 graduates 117 cadets - March 2, 2019

The Virginia Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy graduates 117 cadets from Class 50 March 2, 2019, at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach. Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Walt Mercer, chief operations officer for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, joined Mark Chicoine, director of the Virginia Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy, in congratulating the cadets on finishing the five-and-a-half-month program. Terrell Mackey, a Commonwealth ChalleNGe alumnus who went on to a career in the U.S. Navy and as a business owner, was the guest speaker. ChalleNGe aims to intervene in the lives of 16-18 year-old teenagers by providing values, skills, education and self-discipline needed to produce responsible, productive citizens, and to do so in a highly-structured learning environment.