KINGDOM CITY, Mo. -It's taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears - mostly sweat - but Alicia Cole is ready to join the Air Force.
The 23-year-old, originally from Hannibal, is the first graduate of Missouri Girls Town's newest program, Pathway to Military Enlistment.
"I'm hoping for a better lifestyle," Cole said.
Announced early last year, the program targets at-risk youth primarily between ages 17-21. Currently, six are participating, including Cole; two are boys.
Missouri Girls Town also provides therapy, education and job training for girls with mental health and behavioral issues and those who came out of destructive living situations. Girls come to Girls Town from all over the state through the juvenile court system, the Missouri Department of Mental Health and the Missouri Division of Social Services Children's Division.
"The board and an Air Force general had a meeting, looking at what happens to kids who fall out of the foster care system," explained PME program head Chad Vanderhoff, an Air Force veteran.
Missouri Girls Town leaders realized spending time in the military could give at-risk youth help in transitioning to adulthood by providing further education, income, benefits and plenty of structure.
"It's giving them the guidance they've lacked," Vanderhoff added.
The program provides schooling, prep help for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, fitness training and even free housing, if needed.
Cole went through the foster system and attended John Wood Community College to play softball and earn some general education credits. She wasn't sure what she would do next.
"One morning, my sophomore year, I just woke up and thought of the military," she said.
Her Air Force recruiter told her about the Missouri Girls Town program, and Cole signed up. She primarily needed help studying for the ASVAB and training to pass the Air Force's physical fitness requirements.
"I'm bad at push-ups," Cole said.
Vanderhoff said that following basic training, Cole will be joining the Air Force Security Forces, with the goal of becoming a K-9 handler. She'll be leaving her own dog, a husky/German Shepherd mix named Belle, with a friend.
Cole said PME helped her overcome her nerves about joining the military.
"I was pretty nervous about basic training, but every day I come here, I become a little more confident," she said.
Missouri Girls Town Director Jenny Preiss hopes Cole is the first of many success stories for the program.
"I'm excited that Missouri Girls Town is finding ways to help other kids we couldn't reach in the past," she said. "I'm ecstatic for Alicia. We couldn't ask for a better first candidate."
She praised Cole as driven and focused.
With the state cutting funding to residential facilities like hers in favor of foster care, Preiss sees PME as part of reinventing Missouri Girls Town. Currently, 70 percent of Girls Town's funding comes from donors.
Vanderhoff said the program will grow as time goes by and he finds connections in all the branches of the military. Openings are currently available for eligible youth.
To learn more about Missouri Girls Town and the PME program, visit missourigirlstown.org or call 573-642-0891 for more information.