FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (WVDN) – The West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy – South program, located in Montgomery, West Virginia, graduated 66 cadets as a part of Class 2-2025/65 on December 19, 2025, at the Fayette County Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
Keynote speaker Montgomery Police Chief Paris Workman spoke to the Cadets about the significance of their graduation and how achieving the milestone will have positive and lasting effects for their future plans in life. He also emphasized to the graduates that, “the ball is now in your court,” and that each of them was now empowered to do the right things that would define their success.
Class 2-2025 has 49 cadets, or 74 percent, graduating the program with a high school diploma. Of those graduating, 27 percent (18 cadets) plan to join the workforce, eight percent (five cadets) plan to join the military, 26 percent (17 cadets) plan to attend a vocational/technical program and nine percent (six cadets) plan to go onto a four-year college program. Thirty percent of the class (20 cadets) plan to participate in the Mountaineer Job ChalleNGe Program after graduation.
Class 65 represents 20 different counties throughout the Mountain State, with Kanawha County having the highest enrollment for the course with 25 cadets.
Throughout the 22-week program, cadets provided more than 2,956 hours of community service through 38 different projects, a recognized value of more than $102,839.24.
The mission of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy is to train and mentor 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 6,195 cadets have graduated from the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy program since 1993.
Award winners from Class 65 are as follows:
ROBERT C. BYRD DISTINGUISHED CADET AWARD
Cadet Kirsten Fain
Alderson, WV – Monroe
daughter of Jonathon Fain of Alderson
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Cadet Sofia Gicotte
Hedgesville, WV – Berkeley
daughter of Stephanie Lare of Hedgesville
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Cadet Dustin Stacy
Matoaka, WV – Mercer
son of Ruby and Edward Cline of Matoaka
CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Cadet Charles Lilly
Princeton, WV – Mercer
son of Charles Lilly of Coal City
and Jessica Sansom of Princeton
ACADEMIC CHALLENGE AWARD
Cadet Isaiah Sanders
Clendenin, WV – Kanawha
son of John Sanders of Clendenin and
Amanda Sanders of Clendenin
MOST IMPROVED CADET AWARD
Cadet Jeremy Hawkins Jr.
Saint Albans, WV – Kanawha
son of Jeremy and Ashley Hawkins of Saint Albans
“ESPRIT DE CORPS” AWARD
Cadet James Mitchell
Charleston, WV – Kanawha
son of Dewayne and Marlena Mitchell of Charleston
“IRON MIKE” AWARD FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Cadet Alivia Harris
Princeton, WV – Mercer
daughter of Destiny Feathers of Princeton
CAPTAIN JOSEPH L. CULLINAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Cadet Joshua Allis
THEODORE REMINGTON WOO MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Cadets Chase and Elijah Watters
WVNG FEDERAL CREDIT UNION SCHOLARSHIP
Cadet Matthew Mullins
