From the Bottom of My Heart
I am writing this to tell each and every one of the staff members there that you are truly a God send. My son was almost 19 years old, a high school drop-out because of ADD, and had a baby on the way. He applied to the Academy to obtain his GED because he knew with the ADD that he could not obtain it on his own without the benefit of structure.

In high school he thought he was dumb and that he could not perform the work expected of him to graduate. He had failed the first semester of two classes needed for graduation.

You accepted him into the Academy and he thrived!! He was the recipient of the Robert C. Byrd Honor Graduate Award and the Esprit de Corps Award for his class. He was the Corps Commander the majority of the time that he was with you and he gave the graduation speech. Also, when the Academy was in danger of losing funding, he went to Charleston and was called on stage and spoke about the benefits of the Academy. This is all from a young man who would never before speak in public, not even in the church he grew up in.

Today he is married, and the little boy he was expecting is now 2 years old. My son is in the Navy and is stationed in Norfolk, VA on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. He has 2 1/2 more years until he is out of the Navy and he has matured immensely.

I truly thank each and every one of you for allowing my son to attend the Mountaineer Challenge Academy and allowing him the opportunity to better himself. He told me after he graduated, "Mom, I'm not dumb after all, am I?"

I cried. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Mother of Cadet Ormsbee, Class 2-2003

Beyond My Wildest Dreams: "...  How do I say "thank you" for my son's life? He exceeded my wildest dreams by completing your program.  He had never stuck with anything hard in his life. If it wasn't the easy way, he wanted no part of it.  So it was with just a little hope and a lot of prayer that I left him with you back in July. He completed PreChalleNGe and came home for first leave. I have never been so scared waiting to see if he passed his UA at the end of that leave.  It would have been the perfect way for him to cop out... but the sweetest words I have ever heard were "Cadet is clear", and I knew then that he would stick with it to the end.  

So thank you MCA!!  Your program is absolutely a god-send. These aren't bad kids. Only kids in bad situations with bad decision making skills and low self-esteem. You have turned that around and given them the chance to succeed that even they never thought they would have. I will tell anyone who will listen about ChalleNGe. The Lord has richly blessed your program and in turn your program blesses others. I will never forget what you have done."      -Parent Of Graduate

We Knew It Was In Him: Our son graduated with the 1st class of 2001 on June 15, 2001. We want to thank you for the program you have at Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy. This program helped our son and our family work through a lot of problems. He has developed into a more loving, affectionate, considerate, communicative and helpful son. Thank you for helping him find himself... we knew it was in him!" -Parent

Slipped Through the Cracks: "... I feel that any adolescent who is struggling in high school, for whatever reason, and needs a different educational atmosphere should sincerely look into what ChalleNGe had to offer.  Some kids just do better all around when their daily life is structured and receive more recognition for the tasks they do well, and take the responsibility for those tasks that they fail to do correctly.  I feel that our county school system failed (our son) a long time ago, and he slipped through the cracks.  But your Academy has pulled him back out, and hopefully has instilled in him the skills and discipline he needs to continue with this life.  We would not hesitate to recommend your program to other struggling adolescents or parents of those adolescents." -Parent of Graduate

Sweet Success:  "In January of 1998, my son graduated with academic honors from Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy. Prior to being accepted to the Academy he had dropped out of high school, been convicted of several misdemeanors and was isolated from our family life. He is now preparing to graduate from the Art Institute of Dallas with a degree in Culinary Arts and is looking forward to an exciting life as a productive member of our society.