Project ChalleNGe gives local troubled teens a second chance
View PDF | Print View
by: Guest
Total views: 104
Word Count: 1414
I would always lie to my dad and tell him that I was in that class and that they were lying. I constantly came up with excuses about school," Ricci said.
Then he started getting into more trouble. "I got into smoking marijuana and that was just to stop the whole feeling that I was always in trouble," he recalled. "Then I started smoking cigarettes. Finally, my dad found out about all of that and the thing he was mad about was that I had been smoking weed, and he did not even focus on the cigarettes."
Ricci continued down the same path for about two years, "and finally I said forget it. I was done, my dad was done, and everyone else was done."
His dad told him about Arizona Project ChalleNGe and he looked it up on the Internet. "I told my dad that I was ready to take the challenge," he said.
Cadet Ricci is now 16 years old and currently attending Project ChalleNGe, a residential GED program geared towards at-risk youth, high school dropouts or students who don't have enough credits to graduate. The program is for teens, ages 16-19, male or female, headed in the wrong direction and needing a second chance.
The Army National Guard sponsors the voluntary, five-month residential and one-year non-residential mentor program. New classes start January or July on a first-come, first-served basis.
The "drug-free, hands-off" structure allows cadets to get their GED and go on to college during the five-month residency," Charlie Green, AZPC recruiter, said.
After graduation, cadets can go on to college, with potential scholarship money available through AZPC, into the military or get a job/career through AZPC job placement assistance.
The military-based educational program, which has been operational in Arizona since 1993, "allows cadets to get away for five months from an environment that wasn't working and, through the accomplishment of the eight core components, turn their life around toward a successful future," Green said.
The eight core components include GED classes, life coping skills, job skills, health and hygiene, responsible citizenship, service to the community, leadership/followership and physical fitness.
The program's mission is to "challenge each participant academically, physically, psychologically and emotionally so that they can function productively in our community."
That is what Max and Sam Grover hope to take away from the program. The brothers have lived in Lakeside for seven years and went to Blue Ridge High School. Sam dropped out of high school at 17.
"At the time, I was a junior and failing my classes. Sam didn't have a job and was not necessarily on the right track for the future. I was working at the Octopus car wash trying to pay his bills," Max said.
"We, as brothers, realized that something had to change and that we needed to do something with our lives. We could not go on with our lives like this so we both decided to put a challenge in life."
Max and Sam both enrolled in the five-month program in Queen Creek. "The program tests kids mentally and physically by the same discipline method that the military uses. I now have my GED and both of us are taking college classes," Cadet Grover said.
"Sam is also the Color Guard commander for the program. In the last three months, we have been doing community service, physical training, learning life coping skills and health and hygiene, how to be a responsible citizens. We now have discipline and have truly changed with this challenge that forever changed our lives."
Girls have also taken the challenge. Desirae Santos, 16, moved to Show Low recently from Los Angeles with her mom and little brother.
"I dropped out in California so I moved to Show Low. I attended Show Low High School. I really didn't like that school because it was too strict so I dropped out," she explained.
She found out about Project ChalleNGe from her brother, who attended the program's 24th class.
"When I dropped out I knew I had to change so I decided to come to this program. What the program has done for me so far is taught me discipline and meeting time hacks, and (it's) teaching me how to be responsible," Cadet Santos said.
"My favorite part is when we have free time and when we go on community service because we all just have a good time."
Grover, Ricci and Santos are current cadets involved in AZPC's Ambassador Program. "Ambassadors help spread the word about our program to the public and back to their home communities. The program also helps the cadets with improved self-confidence, self-esteem and communication and people skills," said Katrina DeVinny, a coordinator in the program's Recruitment, Placement and Mentoring Department.
With so many high school dropouts, AZPC doesn't want to be a secret anymore. They want to get the word out to struggling youth that they have the opportunity to change their lives "from failure to success.
Campus tours, brochures and informational videos on Arizona Project ChalleNGe are available. To find out more information, visit, www.azpc.org
Member of the Arizona Newspapers Association and the National Newspaper Association
The White Mountain Independent is a Kramer Publication published by White Mountain Publishing Co. each Tuesday and Friday.
The online edition is updated each Tuesday, Friday and for breaking news.
Copyright 2008 WMICentral.com - The White Mountain Independent's Online Edition
Women different from men. Mature women more different from the men, both from the perspective of the body s physiology, psychology or from the mysterious terms. As a woman you know? As a male you know? Women in the three major advantages.
1, menstrual advantage
Many adult women are Ziyuan menstruation to their daily life has brought inconvenience and trouble, Tao Renxian realize that these women even better so that the menstrual men a chip. To loss of blood, if the health of men and women lost the same proportion of output, the men will be killed, and at this point in time the women still may be the rescue of rehabilitation. This is from the medical sense because women have menstrual bleeding period of training. Women because of the cyclical nature of the physical loss of blood, the excessive intake of iron is added to the new process of blood. Therefore, blood disease and women out. Clinical blood disease caused by a number of other diseases, the prevalence among women is quite low.
2, emotional edge
In the daily lives of women and men are more easily emotional to say the Wu Xu. A social survey statistics show that: the frequency of women cry five times higher than men. In practice, but very few men cry Shanranleixia or Chouqiwuyan. From the medical point of view, affect people s emotions is the material in the blood adrenaline and serotonin. The former enable people vasoconstriction, hypertension, irritable people easily agitated the latter able to restrain the town of emotions, people calmly. Taken mutual influence, and inter-related. A study showed that 85 percent of the women to their serotonin than men. In fact, long suppressed emotions will lead to disease, not conducive to the rehabilitation and treatment of disease. However, women more easily than men vent out, all of which are to play a role in easing tension with the purpose of this point, is the man who forever unmatched.
3, immune advantage
The female advantage is the most unique advantage of the immunity. Women have two X chromosomes, while men have only one X chromosome. It is precisely because the number of differences between male and female chromosomes, they formed a difference between men and women of the immune function and therefore women than men have twice the immune genes, it can produce twice the immune substances, which are strong women and men in another Advantages.
To sum up the women in the physical of the three major advantages, may be the cause of the world average life expectancy of women than men-7-year-old reasons.
(Editor: A MI)
Gao Jian does not mean that Ben Wang perspective. If Ben Wang reproduced Gao Jian involved in your copyright, the right to benefit from such issues, as soon as possible with the Korean Broadcasting Commission, Ben Wang will be in accordance with relevant state laws and regulations as soon as possible and properly handle. Contact:
Ben Wang
Related: Project ChalleNGe gives local troubled teens a second chance
Additional information:
From www.wmicentral.com:
Health club chain for women, offers a fitness center locator to find a local franchise.
Female Fitness Models, Female Fitness Model Pictures, Female fitness model pics, Female Fitness Models Galleries, Female.
All muscular girls, buff women, muscle goddesses and toned athletes.
Miss Fitness official site containing information on womens fitness contests, health and fitness magazine, workout clothing, fitness.
Expert diet and training advice from female fitness models, competitors, and trainers.
Female Fitness Model Customer Photos Female Fitness Model picture from Best Form customers and Pro Female Fitness Model pics. You can be a star Female.
Here is your chance as a fitness model to get noticed. Whether you are a bikini model or top female model our free profile service.
Transforming Female Fitness Forever. It is jam packed with fitness, nutrition and fat loss information especially.
Rating:
Not yet rated
Comments
No comments posted.
Add Comment
You do not have permission to comment. If you
log in, you may be able to comment.
