Cadets reflect on personal growth after graduating the Alaska Military Youth Academy
Inside the Gates: The class of 2024-1 were celebrated at a graduation ceremony in June
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - After months of early mornings, daily bed-makings, structured schooling, and so many pushups — the high schoolers enrolled in the 2024-1 spring cycle with the Alaska Military Youth Academy have made it to the graduation stage.
Friends, family, the academy’s cadres, and leadership teams — as well as a handful of state representatives — gathered at the Alaska Airlines Center on June 13 for the student graduation ceremony.
It had been 22 weeks since these kids said goodbye to their families in January to attend the immersive, quasi-military program that offers 16- to 18-year-olds an avenue to gain confidence, learn leadership and life-coping skills, and discipline and trade skills.
Many joined the academy after falling behind in their traditional classroom, as the program offers opportunities to make up lost credits.
For graduating cadet Kailyn Herring, it was a finish line that at one point, she didn’t think she’d cross. She credits the friends she made through the program and letters from home as the driving force behind her decision to stick it out.
“I’m very proud of myself because I know a lot of people didn’t make it to graduation,” Herring said. “I’ve gained a lot of confidence, like in everything I do.”
Herring’s parents, Dustin and Jamie Ebert — who both had a hard time saying goodbye to Kailyn in January — were thrilled that she completed the program.
“This is not an easy thing to do and she did it, this is all her,” Jamie Ebert said. “Mom and Dad were there writing her letters, but all these achievements she did. This is 100% her. I’m so incredibly proud of her.”
For cadet Alexander Barone, the program has helped him grow as a person both mentally and physically. He said the experience was worth the hard work that’s required of students.
“I feel a sense of pride, like I feel really good inside,” Barone said. “I just feel really good being here. It’s a good experience to go through.”
Barone was a part of the academy’s 2nd platoon, which he said was a cohesive group that helped build each other up. He said he’s strongly considering a career in the Army as a mechanic.
Some students had a harder time adjusting to the structure of the academy than others, like cadet Ayana Hamilton, who admitted she was put on “hardcore” — a level of punishment that temporarily restricts student privileges — five times throughout the nearly six-month period.
“I’ve grown very much,” Hamilton said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself that I didn’t know, like how I lash out at people when I’m angry, but the life-coping skills classes — they’ve helped me improve on that, and also the leadership classes helped me improve on being a better leader.”
Hamilton said things got difficult around week three of the program, as the female students adjusted to living in the same quarters as 40 other girls, but that eventually everyone settled into a routine and came to an understanding that they all had one fundamental thing in common.
“We realized we’re all family and we’re not different from each other,” Hamilton said. “We may have different bodies, different sizes, different ages — but we’re all the same. We all came here for one reason and that’s to improve.”
There was a point during the semester when Hamilton genuinely didn’t believe she’d make it to graduation, proving herself wrong as she shook the hands of AMYA leaders across the graduation stage.
Hamilton said she’s going to look into signing up for EMS classes down the line to see if she wants to pursue a career in emergency services.
Graduating cadet Anthony Flores couldn’t wrap his head around the thought that the semester was so long, yet felt so short. He said no matter how hard the program got, the staff always showed him support through the process, and that the academy cultivated a safe space to let students work through their mistakes.
“If you get in trouble, you maybe do some pushups, and so it’s way easier to learn it here than on the outside,” Flores said. “Even if it does get hard you can always think that there will always be better days ... if you fall you can always get back up.”
A new group of students will work their way through the program during the next cycle, which begins July 16.
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