Submitted by the Washington Youth Academy
The Washington Youth Academy celebrated the graduation of 10 students from the Bellingham area during commencement ceremonies on December 20.
The students who have completed the program include those from Bellingham: Ismael Bravo Reyna, Eve Campbell, Danielle Drake, Desirae Drake, Hector Gonzalez Maceda, Claiborne Parry, Jesus Sandoval Alvarez, Carlos Tovar Martinez as well as Lynden student Alexus Garcia and Sean Carlson of Burlington.
These students were among 144 graduates who will all return to high school to get their diploma or seek an alternative path to finish their high school education, such as a GED or by joining Running Start.
The class is the largest to graduate from the Youth Academy since welcoming its first class in January of 2009.
This year’s cadets donated more than 11,000 hours of service to the community with an estimated value of $273,000 to the community.
The mission of the Washington Youth Academy is to provide a highly disciplined, safe and professional learning environment that empowers at-risk youth to improve their educational levels and employment potential and become responsible and productive citizens of the State of Washington. The Washington Youth Academy is a division of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program. Established under authority of both federal and state law, the WYA is a state-run residential and post-residential intervention program for youth who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out. The free program places cadets in a 22-week intensive residential phase. For the following year, the youth receives intense mentoring and placement follow-up. The school is in Bremerton, but anyone from around the state can apply.
Cadets Danielle Drake and Hector Gonzalez Maceda were both chosen to speak for their class at the commencement ceremonies.
“Since the day I was born, my parents and family have been trying to teach me to be a responsible, young adult,” Drake said during the graduation ceremonies. “However, as a teenager, I found ways to push them out and not listen to what they say. I was rebelling constantly and was stubborn. I skipped school consistently because I just really didn’t want to go.”
In her junior year, Drake said she found out she wouldn’t graduate on time. She described her enrollment in the Washington Youth Academy as a “miracle” that will now let her graduate on time. She joined the Academy with her sister Desirae Drake.
“I hated every minute of training, but one thing I always told myself was, ‘Don’t quit and live the rest of your life as a champion,’” she said. “… We have lived an unforgettable life-changing event that has made us stronger mentally and physically.”
Gonzalez Maceda said that commencement was the “start of a new chapter” for him and thanked staff for “pushing us to our limits and making us realize our potential.”
“A lot of us thought we wouldn’t make it,” he said. “Six months ago, we were looked at differently – kids with no future, but we’ve all grown.”
A Test of Adult Basic Education found that cadet skill levels increased an average of 2.3 grade levels by the end of the 22-week program compared to when the cadets entered the program. Remarkably, 132 of the 144 cadets achieved the maximum eight credits students could receive from their stay at the academy. Only 29 of the cadets who entered the program had enough credits to be classified as seniors. Today, 108 graduates of the program have the credits needed to be classified as seniors.
“This journey is not about their past; it’s about their future,” Washington Youth Academy Director Larry Pierce said at graduation.
More than 1,300 students have gone through the program since its inception.
For more information, visit the new website http://mil.wa.gov/youth-academy, or visit Washington Youth Academy’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonYouthAcademy.
