KINGWOOD, W.Va. — More than 170 cadets graduated from the West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy on Friday.
The class, labeled “Class 51,” had 173 cadets, 158 of which graduated with a high school diploma, the highest percentage in the program’s history. The class was made of cadets from 33 counties.
“Not only have these cadets shown courage and commitment in their lives, they’ve also set a standard for achievement in graduating as the largest class with the highest percentage of high school diploma recipients,” Maj. Gen. James Hoyer said. “I cannot overstate how proud we are of their accomplishments and look forward to their future contributions to the great State of West Virginia.”
The academy is a free volunteer program for youth who are educationally at-risk.
The cadets served more than 8,600 hours of community service over the 22-week program, a value of more than $212,690.