The Mississippi Army National Guard is accepting applications,but not for service.

Until June 1, the Guard is taking applications for the 23rdclass of the National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Academy. The academyis designed for school dropouts ages 16 to 18 who have a desire tomake a “positive change in their lives,” said Staff Sgt. RodneyMcDonald, a program recruiter.

Students, both male and female, who enroll are offered a chanceto receive a high school equivalency diploma and a full first-yearapprenticeship in a craft area with national certification andtranscripts from The National Center for Construction, Educationand Research.

“We currently offer apprenticeships in two areas – electronicsand carpentry,” McDonald said.

The Youth ChalleNGe Academy consists of a five-month residentialcourse conducted at Mississippi National Guard Training Center CampShelby.

“It’s not a boot camp,” McDonald said. “However, for five monthsthe students will live in a military-structured environment. Theydo physical training every day, walk in formation – all thosethings you think of when you hear military structure.”

Students stay at the academy during the program.

“One of the reasons we’re so successful is that it is aresidential program,” McDonald said. “We change their environment,which allows us to remove bad behaviors and create good behaviors.They have to want to change.”

The academy graduates two classes a year, beginning in Januaryand July, and enrollment is competitive. Each class is limited to amaximum of 238 students, but the academy typically receives between350 to 400 applications for each class.

Applicants are selected during an interview phase by programrecruiters after the application deadline, McDonald said.

The program is state funded and offered at no cost to theparticipants.

“This is a volunteer program. This is not a program the courtscan sentence a child to,” McDonald said. “And a parent can’t make akid come if the kid doesn’t really want to be here.”

During the course of the program, students can voluntarily optout, he said.

“However, that’s strongly discouraged,” McDonald said. “Usuallythe first two or three weeks can be tough to adjust to, but theygenerally accept where they’re at and become comfortable afterthat.”

In the last nine years, more than 3,800 students have graduatedfrom the ChalleNGe Academy with most of the graduates easilyfinding employment or continuing their education in colleges,technical schools or vocational schools, McDonald said. A largenumber of students have even joined the various branches of themilitary.

Mississippi’s ChalleNGe Academy has been ranked the “BestOverall” program out of 29 ChalleNGe programs across the UnitedStates.

For more information on the program or to receive anapplication, call 1-800-507-6253.