National Guard signs memorandum with BPCC

By Staff Sgt. Robin C. Perry, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

MINDEN, La. – The Louisiana National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program and Bossier Parish Community College signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Camp Minden today.

Maj. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis, adjutant general of the LANG, said, “Thank you to Bossier Parish Community College for partnering with us – we are accomplishing an amazing thing today.”

“Our priority is setting these young men and women up for success,” he continued.

The Memorandum of Understanding allows cadets passing the GED test to take course assessments with the potential to earn up to 15 college credits at BPCC. This statewide initiative is accessible to YCP students at all three locations – Camp Minden, Camp Beauregard in Pineville, and Gillis W. Long Center in Carville.

Dr. Jim Henderson, chancellor of BPCC, stressed that these college credits can give the cadets a head start on a college degree and can also help them meet the criteria for military enlistment.

The Louisiana National Guard YCP is a disciplined, military-style training program which offers at-risk 16-18-year-olds an opportunity to change their future in many ways, including the opportunity to earn a GED. The Louisiana program achieves an 83% GED pass rate and an average grade increase of three levels.

The program graduates more than 1,400 students annually and has graduated more than 19,843 students since its inception in 1994.