Illinois National Guard’s Lincoln’s ChalleNGe Academy Graduation

The Illinois National Guard’s Lincoln’s ChalleNGe Class 59-23 had a long list of accomplishments when its more than 90 cadets graduated on June 10 at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield, Illinois.

The class recovered 277 and a half credit hours, awarded seven high school diplomas and 31 GEDs, 33 cadets returned to high school, $33,050 in college scholarships were awarded, some 24 cadets are enlisting in the U.S. military, 13 cadets were placed in jobs, more than 7,000 hours were completed in vocational programs, more than 5,321 hours of community service were completed, and the cadets lost 1,016 pounds of fat and replaced those with 623 pounds of muscle.

But two important numbers were not listed in Class 59-23’s program: 30 and 16,000.

In July, LCA will reach its 30th year and among the cadets who walked across the stage on Saturday included the 16,000th young man or woman to graduate from the Illinois National Guard’s youth academy.