Lincoln's Challenge Academy: For one cadet, a divine gift

This is the fifth of an occasional series  about the young men and women who attend Lincoln's Challenge Academy in Rantoul. The program for high school dropouts is operated by the Illinois National Guard. Students live in a military environment for 22 weeks on the former Chanute Air Force Base while completing an education program geared to finishing high school.

It's 4 a.m. in the dorm at Lincoln's Challenge Academy and while nearly all the cadets are sleeping in their bunks, 18-year-old Desmond Battles is clutching his Bible. Meditating. Praying.

Here on this former Air Force base, a place formerly dedicated to teaching the tools of war, this teen from the south side of Chicago found God, hearkening to a line from the Old Testament book of Isaiah:

"They will beat their swords into plowshares ..."

A year ago, Desmond was a high school dropout on the South Side of Chicago, but after four months of discipline at Lincoln's Challenge Academy, he has emerged as a gospel singing sensation.

"He's very good," says team leader Capt. Robert Jones, a veteran of both Iraq wars. "He's got a very good voice."

If not singing, Desmond's true tenor voice can be heard leading cadence during the march following morning chow. His voice stands out over the 38 members of the Team 3 Wolfpack.

A stout teen with a constant smile, Desmond is as comfortable speaking to a group of cadets as he is talking one-on-one. He exudes confidence.

"Coming to the academy has given me a lot more clarity to my life in unexpected ways," he says. "As I've seen the staff here working to help us, I've been inspired to dedicate my life to help others, too."

On Sunday mornings, Desmond – dressed in his full academy uniform – sings with the male chorus at the Church of the Living God on North Fourth Street in Champaign.

"Desmond is a very fine young man," says the church's pastor, Bishop Lloyd Gwin. "He has a gift for song and inspiration, and he has the fire to be a good leader."

Desmond said the daily time he spends in the early morning hours in prayer has changed his life. And after he graduates in December, he plans to go to college.

"I decided I want to become a minister," he says.

Jones believes the ministry is a good calling for Desmond because he's talented at counseling others.

"He has a way with the other kids, and he can talk to them and get them to do things," Jones said. "He is always the one who likes to get up and go."

His pastor back in Chicago, the Rev. Courtney C. Maxwell of the Great Deliverance Temple Church of Christ, has agreed to serve as Desmond's mentor after he gets his high school equivalency diploma in December.

"I have a 6-year plan to get my doctorate degree in counseling psychology," Desmond says. "I want to attend the Harold Washington School and then transfer to Chicago State University for my doctorate. Then I plan on beginning my career as a minister."

Desmond's future didn't seem so clear a year ago. As a high school junior in the South Shore School of Entrepreneurship on Chicago's south side, he fell in love with a college girl and suddenly lost all interest in classes.

"I allowed a girl to distract me from my high school work," he says with regret in his voice. "She was beautiful."

Desmond frequently skipped classes so he could hang out with her, and after receiving warnings about his truancy, he decided to drop out.

"I lost all sense of direction in my life," he says. "I'm not proud of what happened, but it was meant to be."

He felt sorry for himself, and turned to eating.

"After leaving school, I slept in a lot and gained a lot of weight. My life was coming apart at the seams," he says.

Desmond's parents, Larry and Ciwana Neal, encouraged him to enroll at Lincoln's Challenge.

"My cousin had gone here, so I looked it up on the computer," he says. "I decided this would be the best thing for me – to be away from home and recollect myself and become a better person."

In July, Desmond said farewell to his girlfriend and headed down Interstate 57 to Rantoul.

"It was hard leaving Ursula, but it wasn't hard leaving Chicago," he says. "I wanted a chance to get away from mommy and daddy.

"I personally think we all need an opportunity to become more responsible. This was my big chance, and I was determined to make the most of it."

At first sight, Jones suspected Desmond would be a challenge.

"When I first saw him, he weighed 215 pounds and was like a big butter roll," Jones says. "We knew that physical training was going to be important for him."

Desmond admits he wasn't prepared for the daily workouts.

"We march every day to and from school, and we have a regimen of daily exercise," he says. "We also learn to eat better food. It's a radical lifestyle change for somebody like me."

Jones recalls Desmond's lack of interest in physical fitness. "But he saw the other cadets doing it, and he wanted to set a good example, so he did it, too."

His golden voice inspired him to a leadership role as a soloist and leader for the 20-member Lincoln's Challenge choir.

Choir director Bearlyn Ash, a counselor at the academy, said Desmond has a natural singing talent.

"He sings very well, and he has grown in his maturity level," she says. "Not only is he an outstanding soloist, but he helps to teach the other cadets their parts as well."

Desmond and the choir have performed at the Veterans Day parade in Monticello, on Election Day at the Danville VA Hospital and at several area churches.

"I've always liked music, and I've emerged as the corps' musician," he says. "I also play the piano. Until I came here, I didn't realize how much music can be a part of the academy's lifestyle."

Desmond looks forward to the day when he can influence others as a minister, like the Academy influenced and changed him.

"Music, the military and the ministry all have to do with discipline," Desmond says. "In order to teach, you need to learn to accept yourself. That's what I gained here in Rantoul."

Also on this date

• Families have yet to come to grips with fatal crash
• Champaign fire lieutenant gives students hands-on training
• Woman removed from car after crash in bank lot
• Crime stats: Coles County's rise isn't evidence of epidemic
• UI group compiles gift guide for children's books
• Through the lens: Photographer documents life on Illinois River
• Obituaries