YCP Graduation class 2017-2 Gillis W. Long Center

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program at Gillis W. Long Center graduated 215 cadets during a ceremony at Bethany Church – South in Baton Rouge at March 24, 2018. Congressman Ralph Abraham of the United States House of Representatives, District 5, will be present to address the graduates during the ceremony.

YCP offers young people an opportunity to improve their lives through participation in an innovative, five-month residential alternative school in which students work at their own pace to pass the High School Equivalency Test, which is the equivalent of a General Education Degree.

The mission of the LANG YCP is to intervene in and reclaim the lives of 16-18 year-old adolescents, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education and self-discipline necessary in order to succeed as productive citizens. (U.S. Army National Guard video by Spc. Duncan Foote)