The Virginia Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy graduates 114 cadets from Class 52 Feb. 29, 2020, at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach. Retired Brig. Gen. Walt Mercer, chief operations officer for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, joined Mark Chicoine, director of the Virginia Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy, in congratulating the cadets on finishing the five-and-a-half-month residential portion of the program. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew L. Eaves, an active duty Army aviator assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and a Mississippi National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy graduate, was the guest speaker. The Virginia Army National Guard’s Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band performed ceremonial music for the event. ChalleNGe aims to intervene in the lives of 16-18 year-old teenagers by providing values, skills, education and self-discipline needed to produce responsible, productive citizens, and to do so in a highly-structured learning environment. (U.S. National Guard photo by A.J. Coyne)