'Go out there and conquer the world:' Lincoln's ChalleNGe graduates put on new path
Before she enlisted in the 2022 class at the Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy in Rantoul, Shamira Elms' educational career was a difficult one. Not that she didn't possess the necessary skills to succeed – she has them – but life at Springfield High School was tough.
"I was falling behind in school, getting really bad grades and feeling bullied in high school," Elms said. "My mom wanted me to start fresh and get a restart for life."
Over a period of five months – from July to December – Elms got a crash course in how to make it through life, with the help and support from the staff at LCA, an Illinois National Guard program. On Saturday at the BOS Center in her hometown, she and more than 120 students got their reward, graduating as the program's 58th class.
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Elms was just like the other graduates who walked across the stage on Saturday morning – a student having problems in the traditional school setting who needed a pathway to success. Many students in the program were at risk of dropping out of school or not graduating; some had already dropped out.
With the help of Illinois National Guard soldiers, the students engaged in a 22-week period of educational challenges, physical endurance, and community service. The aim is to lead students toward a better life beyond the program. After completing the 22 weeks, students spend the next year working with mentors to enhance the lessons they learned at the academy.
Elms said there was an adjustment period when she first arrived in Rantoul, as she was going from the free-flowing nature of normal life to the strict, regimented ways of the military. As time went on, she adjusted, made good grades, and even managed to become the student leader of her team, the "Black Widows."
"It's very tough and very hard, but I benefitted a lot from it," Elms said. "I got good grades (and) my attitude is very much different from when I got there."
Class 58 was the first one under the watchful eye of Maurice Rochelle, a retired National Guard colonel who took over the program in June. Rochelle said he should have stayed retired but he had one more calling left.
"I'm a retired colonel and I should have just (stayed) retired," said Rochelle, an ordained minister. "(But) there was a calling on my life to do this for the youth of our nation."
During his speech to the graduating cadets, Rochelle said with the lessons learned through the program, students such as Elms had everything that it took to become the next generation of leaders and achievers.
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"Now, ladies and gentlemen, young kings and queens, go out there and conquer the world," Rochelle said. "Remember, we don't have bad days, we just have bad moments. However, we take those bad moments and change them into good moments so we can have good days. We can have 365 good days per year."
Elms, a junior, will return to high school and take the lessons learned from the program into college. Eventually, she hopes to be able to go to law school and become a lawyer. She plans to find pleasure in life's little things.
"I just want to be happy in what I do," Elms said. "I don't want to stress about the little things because in the big picture, the little things aren't anything compared to everything else."
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy students graduate in Springfield ceremony
