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2 Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy Graduates Awarded Scholarships

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jun. 27--Merrill Lynch awarded two West Virginia teens $2,000 scholarships to the colleges of their choosing.

Christopher Lowe, 18, and Justin Peters, 19, are graduates of Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy, part of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program. (The NG stands for "National Guard.")

The cadets entered the program to obtain their high school diploma or GED. Lowe is the son of Patricia Lowe, of Ireland, W.Va., and Peters is the son of John and Tammie Peters, of Morgantown.

ChalleNGe is a voluntary intervention program open to at-risk students ages 16-18 who want to change their lives through education, community service, physical fitness and life skills training.

The 17-month program helps young people return to high school, earn a GED, enroll in college, enter the work force or join the military.

The program's 22-week residential phase applies strict discipline, structure, exercise and education into its curriculum and is followed by a year-long mentoring phase where cadets focus on their life goals under the close guidance of a mentor of their choosing.

In February, Merrill Lynch donated $1 million to the National Guard Youth Foundation, the nonprofit organization devoted to sustaining and expanding the program, to be used for annual scholarships. In addition, Merrill Lynch's financial literacy initiative, Investing Pays Off, will be added to the Youth ChalleNGe Program and supported by Merrill Lynch volunteers nationwide.

Lowe has been attending WVU in Morgantown, studying geology with a specialty in natural gas and petroleum. this summer he has a paid internship with CKS Pipeline, where he is learning about the environment, pipelines and the industry in general.

Peters will be a sophomore this fall at WVU, studying political science. He is considering law school but knows he wants to run for political office, someday.

Both teens have completed the program's mentorship phase.

Applications are being accepted for Class 1-07. Info: www.wvchal lenge.org.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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NYSE:MER,

Source: The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.)

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