Class 9 (2009)
The ChalleNGe program helped me earn my education, but more importantly, gave me the confidence and work ethic to start my own business. After graduating from WCCA in 2009, I worked a number of odd jobs and eventually decided to start my own business in the Casper, Wyo., area, specializing in pet waste removal. Today, Doggie Doo-Doo, Inc. Dog Waste Removal Service, is a thriving company. I credit my experience as a cadet at Camp Guernsey as one of the most important reasons for my success. Without the ChalleNGe program, I’m not sure where I would have ended up. I wasn’t the typical type of kid that fit into that traditional type of schooling and the Cowboy ChalleNGe helped me out with that a lot. It taught me a lot of respect, how to appreciate what I have and to focus on goals. I learned a lot about myself and exposed me to numerous life experiences. It would have taken me a lot longer to get to where I am today without the program. It put me a year or two ahead of anyone I went to school with. It gave me that opportunity to experience life, experience a lot of different things that kids that age didn’t get to experience. It let me grow up a little faster and that’s why I was able to be a business owner at 20 years old. I was asked to help market the program by testifying before the state joint education committee, made video testimonials and helped local recruiting efforts. In Feb. 2018, I was selected to represent WCCA at the 25th Anniversary of Youth Challenge Gala in Washington, D.C. It was a great experience!