West Virginia Press Association
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — The West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy – South program, located in Montgomery, West Virginia, graduated 66 cadets as a part of Class 61 on March 8 at the Fayette County Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
“The graduating cadets of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South are celebrating a significant milestone in their lives,” stated Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, the Adjutant General of West Virginia. “The dedication, devotion, pride, and confidence these cadets have developed and demonstrated over the past 22 weeks exemplifies the best attributes of leadership, personal courage, and heartfelt commitment. Each cadet has worked hard and excelled at overcoming adversity. The education, values, self-discipline, goal setting and leadership skills they have learned while at MCA have better prepared them to be impactful West Virginia citizens. The cadets now know that if they dream it and believe it, they can achieve it. Our entire One Guard family celebrates their accomplishment here today and look forward to all they will do in their futures.”
Class 61 has 48 cadets, or 73 percent, graduating the program with a high school diploma. Of those graduating, 42 percent (28 cadets) plan to join the workforce, 17 percent (11 cadets) plan to join the military, 12 percent (8 cadets) plan to attend a vocational/technical program and nine percent (6 cadets) plan to go onto a four-year college program. Twenty percent of the class (13 cadets) plan to participate in the Mountaineer Job ChalleNGe Program after graduation.
Class 61 represents 28 different counties throughout the Mountain State, with Kanawha County having the highest enrollment for the course with 15 cadets.
Throughout the 22-week program, cadets provided more than 4,361 hours of community service through 23 different projects, a recognized value of more than $124,462.94.
The mission of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy is to train and mentor selected at-risk youth to become contributing members of society using the Eight Core Components in a quasi-military environment during a 22-week residential and one-year post-residential follow-up program. It is a free volunteer program for West Virginia youth ages 16 to 18 years old who are educationally at-risk.
A total of 5,669 cadets have graduated from the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy program since 1993.
Award winners from Class 61 are as follows:
ROBERT C. BYRD DISTINGUISHED CADET AWARD
Cadet Justin Paul Miller
Letart, Mason County
Son of Julie and Christopher Miller
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Cadet Jacob Andrew Ballard
Reedsville, Preston County
Son of Michelle and Andrew Ballard
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Cadet Noah Cameron Bowen
Ghent, Raleigh County
Son of Robert and Teresa Bowen
CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Cadet Andrea Nicole Anderson
Spencer, Roane County
Daughter of Sherrie and Seth Anderson
ACADEMIC CHALLENGE AWARD
Cadet Samuel Lomas
Charleston, Kanawha County
Son of Misty and Patrick Lomas
MOST IMPROVED CADET AWARD
Cadet Taliah Rose Gicotte
Hedgesville, Berkeley County
Daughter of Stephanie Schrider
“ESPRIT DE CORPS” AWARD
Cadet Jackson Maddox Quate
Huntington, Cabell County
Son of Joshua and Shondaya Fedotoff
“IRON MIKE” AWARD FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Cadet Justin Paul Miller
Letart, Mason County
Son of Julie and Christopher Miller
“IRON MICHELLE” AWARD FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Cadet Payton Wander
Huntington, Cabell County
Daughter of Andrew and Deborah Wander
CAPTAIN JOSEPH L. CULLINAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Cadet Dylan Bradley
Beckley, Raleigh County
Son of Theresa Bradley
Enlisting into the West Virginia National Guard as a 91 Bravo, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic
