Thirty cadets graduate from Class 62 of the Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy June 14, 2025, at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Col. Jeff Wagstaff, Senior Army Advisor to the Virginia Army National Guard, retired Col. Everton Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, Jen Lanz, director of Commonwealth ChalleNGe, and Jerome Ferrette, the Commonwealth ChalleNGe deputy director, congratulated each of the graduates on completing the five-and-a-half month long residential portion of the program. U.S. Fleet Forces Band Brass Quintet provided music for the ceremony. Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy is the Virginia component of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program and is based at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach. ChalleNGe is a 17-and-a-half-month program that is structured in a military-style environment designed to promote academics, attention to detail, time management, and leadership, while promoting self-esteem, confidence and pride. (U.S. National Guard photo by A.J. Coyne)