A group of young adults who might not usually appear in the spotlight for their academic accomplishments is doing just that.

The 196 graduates of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program got a standing ovation from a packed house during recent ceremonies at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center.

For 13 years, the Youth Challenge program has intervened in the lives of at-risk youth and provided 22 weeks of structure at Camp Shelby.

The Youth Challenge students live in base barracks, attend classes, learn life skills and reach out into the community to do good deeds such as fundraising and giving blood.

At their recent graduation, they sat front and center - dressed in caps and gowns - and descended from the stage with certificates, awards and honors.

Mississippi's program, one of 32 Youth Challenge programs operated in 27 states, has served as a model for other states and earned national recognition for being the best all-around program, according to officials who spoke at graduation ceremonies.

Class valedictorian Brent Crutchfield spoke about his experience.

"Twenty-two weeks ago, graduation was the furthest thing from my mind," he said.

One day, someone on the Youth Challenge staff told Crutchfield something that made the program make sense, and those words stuck with him.

"I care more about you succeeding than you care about failing," he said of what he heard that day that turned his life around.

Many of the graduates leave the program with certificates that will help in job searches, college credits, scholarships and military plans.

Joy Armstrong of Petal sat in the stands and flipped through the pages of her son's Youth Challenge yearbook.

"There he is," she said, pointing proudly to a photograph of Aaron Davis.

Davis, 18, fell behind in his school work at Perry Central. He dropped out and began working on a high school equivalency diploma, but he had to quit that when the program ended, his mom said.

So he enrolled in the Youth Challenge, graduated and set some goals. "He wants to go to college," his mom said.

Of the most recent graduates, 31 completed up to 15 college semester hours from William Carey University. Thirty-nine earned scholarships from a total 10 institutions, program director William Crowson said.