In the News
WDAM: Ezell speaks at graduation of Class 58 of National Guard’s Youth Challenge
Hattiesburg | Charles Herrington,
June 17, 2023
Dozens of students from across the Magnolia State graduated Saturday from the Mississippi National Guard’s Youth Challenge Academy.
A ceremony held at Temple Baptist Church saw 157 cadets from Class 58 receive their diplomas. For the last 22 weeks, the graduates attended the military-style academy at Camp Shelby. “I feel great, another day, another day to be made,” said Garrett Wilkerson, a graduate from Greenville. The National Guard-sponsored program gives at-risk youth or other students a chance at getting their GED or valuable job skills. “YCA meant a lot to me,” said Kamora Stevens, a graduate from Gulfport. “It made me a better person. It made me realize there’s more to life than the stuff I was doing at home, Featured speaker for the ceremony was Mississippi’s Fourth District Congressman Mike Ezell. “This has been a life-changing thing for these kids and to see all the support from the military, all the brass that are in here and local leaders, clergy, pastors, deacons, lay people, it’s just a wonderful thing to see,” Ezell said. A total of 11,121 cadets have graduated from the Youth Challenge Program since it began at Camp Shelby in 1994. https://www.wdam.com/2023/06/18/ezell-speaks-graduation-class-58-national-guards-youth-challenge/ |