CHARLESTON, W.Va. — 58 cadets walked across the stage Friday morning at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston as a part of graduating Class 1-2021 of the West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy South.
Many people were emotional including friends, family and the cadets themselves. Paul Perdue, the Director of Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy South was also emotional as he gave his speech. He noticed how much the cadets have changed from day one and in a good way.
“You see the poor posture, you see the eye contact diverted away. Then as you watch time go on and the 22 weeks go by, at graduation day you can see the pride they have for themselves and the self-esteem they carry with them. That is an amazing process to watch take place,” Perdue told MetroNews flagship 580-WCHS afterward.
Class 1-2021 boasted a 93 percent graduation rate for its cadets, meaning 54 of the 58 earned their high school diploma. Of those graduating, 24 percent (14 cadets) plan to join the workforce, 36 percent (21 cadets) plan to join the military, 14 percent (8 cadets) plan to attend a vocational/technical program and 12 percent (7 cadets) plan to go onto a four-year college program, a release stated. Fourteen percent of the class (8 cadets) plan to participate in the Mountaineer Job ChalleNGe Program after graduation.
The South academy opened its doors on October 11, 2020, in Montgomery. 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.
Class 1-2021 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 2,954 hours of community service through 42 different projects, a recognized value of more than $84,292.89.
Brig. Gen. William Crane, Adjutant General of West Virginia National Guard said he is proud of the at-risk kids for turning their lives around.
“All of us have taken a turn at some point in our lives that may not have been the best turn. This is the great program to help them to make the right turn and go down the right path,” Crane said.
Award winners from the program are as follows:
ROBERT C. BYRD DISTINGUISHED CADET AWARD
Cadet William Farkas
Tunnelton, Preston County
Son of Gerald and Rhonda Farkas
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Cadet William Farkas
Tunnelton, Preston County
Son of Gerald and Rhonda Farkas
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Cadet Mason French
Tornado, Lincoln County
Son of Jessica Mattox and Derron French
CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Cadet Navaeh Asbury
Saint Albans, Kanawha County
Daughter of Richard and Jessica Asbury
ACADEMIC CHALLENGE AWARD
Cadet Brooklyn Parker
Saint Albans, Kanawha County
Daughter of Seth and Melissa Parker
MOST IMPROVED CADET AWARD
Cadet Samuel Wheeler
Hinton, Summers County
Son of Harold and Sherri Wheeler
“ESPRIT DE CORPS” AWARD
Cadet William Farkas
Tunnelton, Preston County
Son of Gerald and Rhonda Farkas
“IRON MIKE” AWARD FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Cadet William Farkas
Tunnelton, Preston County
Son of Gerald and Rhonda Farkas
and
Cadet Samantha Hammons
Marlinton, Pocahontas County
Daughter of Roy Hammons