KNIGHTSTOWN — Cameron Vahle fell in with the wrong crowd.
The New Palestine teen was smoking pot, failing out of school, and habitually smarting off to his mom and stepdad.
“I had anger issues,” he said.
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Today, he hops out of bed at 5:30 a.m. each day and slips on his boots and camouflage shirt and pants, preparing for another day at the Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy in Knightstown.
He says “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” when addressing adults, has no access to a cell phone, and goes to bed at 9:30 p.m. sharp each night.
And he’s never been happier.
He spent his 18th birthday this week with his classmates at the academy, which offers a residential program for at-risk youth ages 16 to 18, to help them turn their lives around.
“We use a quasi-military, boot camp-type approach to help provide structure to young men and women,” said Kirbie Young, a cadet shift supervisor and admissions coordinator at the academy.
If you ask Vahle, the program is working.
“Some of the kids here say they don’t want to be here, but I’m glad I’m here,” he said. “Without this, I would have ended up dead or in jail.”
Now the future looks bright, said Vahle, who plans to join the Army or Marines after graduating from the academy in December.
Dakota Sawyers is also thankful to the academy for helping him turn his life around.
The Greenfield teen, who turns 17 next week, said he now has a lot more discipline and respect.
“Before I smoked pot, drank, and partied with friends,” he said. His parents would ground him but it wouldn’t stop his bad behavior.
Spending the past several weeks in the residential boot camp-style program has shown him there’s a better way to live his life, he said.
“Now I plan on staying sober when I get out of here. I want to get my GED and get a job as a mechanic working with cars,” said Sawyers, who is striving to be a good role model for his 5-year-old brother.
He knows the way he was behaving before coming to the academy was setting a bad example for his brother, and causing his mom and dad undue stress.
Knowing his family is proud of him makes all the difference in the world, he said.
“I used to be a follower, and now I’m more of a leader,” said Sawyers, whose leadership at the academy earned him the rank of cadet sergeant, a leader among his peers.
“The program here is what you make of it. If you’re respectful and do the right things, you’re going to succeed,” he said. “The leaders here give us a toolbox of tools to use to succeed in life, but it’s up to us how we use those tools.”
Nathan Morris, another Greenfield teen in the program, has also been turning his life around.
While many cadets are sent to the academy by their parents, Morris was encouraged to enroll along with a friend. He then recruited his cousin to join them when the current term started earlier this year.
Morris is the only one who stuck with it. His friend was quickly kicked out for fighting, and his cousin didn’t think it was a good fit, and left to attend a different high school.
Morris, 16, is proud to be sticking with the program, which he says has been transformative.
“It’s helped me a lot,” he said.
“Before I was a rowdy teenager who wanted to go the easy way through life. I was skipping classes, drinking and smoking pot, and getting into arguments with family. This place has helped me get on a straight path. Now I want to be the family member who makes a difference, who is able to be there in a positive way for his parents and grandparents and (eventually) children.”
Morris has not only seen big changes in himself, but in his fellow cadets.
“From what I’ve seen, a lot of them have made great improvements. I’ve seen many obtain great discipline,” he said.
By the time he leaves the academy, Morris hopes to have earned his high school equivalency diploma and plans to get a job and start saving money for an apartment.
Looking back on the teenager he was just a short time ago, Morris said it means the world to him to know that his mother, sister and stepfather are proud of the changes he’s made.
Sitting at a desk at the academy last week, his camouflage hat folded in his hand, Morris’s eyes light up when talking about the kind of young man he wants to be…the kind of young man he’s already becoming.
Long gone is the rowdy teen who would drink and smoke and fight with his family. In his place sits a polite young man sporting a buzz cut and camouflage gear, who can’t help but smile when thinking about his future.
“It’s a great feeling to see the changes in yourself and to see yourself succeeding. I feel as if nothing can stop me,” he said.
