Sullivan Success Story

To: MS ChalleNGe Academy
Re: Graduation of Robert Sullivan, Jr.
June, 2002

When my son came to me and said that he wanted to go to Youth ChalleNGe so that he can finish high school, to be honest, I was scared. I was scared because what kind of mother would send her child off, and more scared because I didn't know what kind of place I would be sending him to. I had no idea what would become of him. Robby was by no means a problem child, having no problems with drugs or alcohol. He just didn't want to go to high school to learn. I think the only reason he did go was to get out of the house and because he knew as long as he made an effort to go, his dad and I would make sure he had money and transportation. I partially take the blame for Robby's downfall in high school. His dad and I divorced, and I was not there, nor was his dad a lot of the time. He was a farmer and worked long hours. There was no one there to make sure he was home on time, doing homework, studying for tests and getting ready for school. After spending three years in the ninth grade and seeing a lot of his buddies become involved with drugs, not only in using them, but also in the manufacturing of them, he began to see the mistakes that he had made. It was all Robby's decision to go to the Mississippi Youth ChalleNGe Program at Camp Shelby. He came to me and said, " This is what I want to do, please help me do it. I want to get an education now and do the right thing. I know I can't do that here. I need help." I had barely ever heard of Camp Shelby and all these horrible pictures were going through my mind of what kind of place it would be and what would happen to Robby. I knew it was a military style camp for kids, but in my mind I thought it was for thugs, drug users, drug sellers, kids with behavioral problems, definitely not somewhere where I wanted my child to be. Robby stayed on our case for about 2 or 3 months and we decided to look into it. I called and the packet was sent to me and we decided to give it a try. I can say now that it was the best decision I ever made. The MS ChalleNGe Academy made a world of difference in Robby. They put his head back square on his shoulders and in the process took off that little chip that was beginning to grow there. They made him believe he was a person, and that he could make something out of himself, no matter what the circumstances were before. He could shoot for the stars and have anything in this life that he wanted. They taught him not only to respect himself but everything and everybody around him. I took a child there who had no idea what he wanted, nor could he see what the future was holding for him. The first day we brought him here, we were signing him up and we were going along fine. I thought, "I am handling this pretty well."  That was, until the lady said ok tell "our" cadet bye, it's time for him to go, and the tears turned on. I began to think I was this bad person for bringing my child here and just leaving him here with strangers. We had a meeting with Colonel Crowson and he explained to us the process of what was going to happen and how it was going to be. Believe me, he put it to us just like that. I had questions that I wanted to ask that I thought were important, but I was told quickly, he will be all right, we have him now, he's ours and he's fixing to grow up. I thought to myself, my god what have I done. He will be scarred for life after this place gets through with him. The letters started to come and there was some homesickness, but honestly Robby never had a bad word to say about Youth ChalleNGe, and I could sense a change just from the letters that he wrote. Reality really set in on the family picnic day. I didn't see the child that I had left back in January, I saw a child that had not only grown on the outside, but on the inside as well. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and knew that he had made the right decision. He had done what was right for him, and he knew it. You could tell by the smile on his face and his overall outlook. He knew what was expected of him and he knew that he had to do it with no questions asked and it had to be done right. From this point on, not only did he know, I knew as well that he could face whatever would come his way. I am so proud to say that Robby did graduate from the Mississippi ChalleNGe Academy and has enlisted in The United States Navy. He has completed his basic training school and he is now a full time crewmember of "THE USS EISENHOWER" I can by no means take all the credit for the man that my son has become. He will be able to travel and see this big world of ours while helping to protect this nation that we call home. There are no words that can begin to express my feelings for Robby as a mother and as a person in general, for my baby has grown into a man that I am so proud of and I owe a big portion of it to the Youth ChalleNGe Program for their guidance and leadership that they gave to put him back on the right track to a successful future and becoming the man that he is now. Without their support and outpouring of guidance and leadership, I would not like to think what would have become of my son. From the bottom of my heart, Youth ChalleNGe, I truly thank you.

                                                                                  Thank you so much,

                                                                                    Anna M. Sullivan