Pieces

Inside Texas ChalleNGe Academy live many cadets from all over the state of Texas, and each cadet has her own personal reasons for committing to the program. As a female here at TCA, living with 21 other girls can be difficult because we are each so different. But I remind myself that this is a temporary stop on my journey to success.

To me, being here at TCA and ranking up requires both respect and responsibility. I know that when I ranked up to Cadet Private, it was a huge sense of accomplishment and pride for me. The ranking pin is more than just a pin. It earns more privileges for me, including longer phone calls home.

With respect to leadership here at TCA, it is one of our core components that we must master. All of us are given the opportunity to be a squad leader. I learned that being a squad leader takes a lot of patience and fortitude. I have also learned that being a good follower takes the same virtues and can be just as difficult.

Another of our core components is service to community. While here I have participated in blood drives, assisted at Rice Middle School dances, worked at fish fries in Nada and Columbus, and have worked at Special Cheers, a farm that helps children with special needs.

In order to fulfil that core component, all of us have to complete forty hours of service work. To be honest, the service projects are a lot of fun and give us something to look forward to as well as a way to help the community.

In total, there are eight parts to the program that we have to complete in order to graduate from TCA. Besides the ones mentioned above, there are life skills, academics, responsible citizenship, health and hygiene, job skills, and physical fitness.

Like I stated before, all of us came to TCA to accomplish something. Some of us are changing quicker than others, but all of us have made some change.