KINGWOOD, W.Va. — Students from 41 West Virginia counties graduated from the Mountaineer ChalleNGe academy Friday afternoon.
Cadet Donovan Akers was among them. The class spokesman is one of 36 cadets from Kanawha County graduating this spring. There are more students from Kanawha County represented in this graduating class than any class before.
“It’s really all about your attitude. That’s how the program’s going to go for you. If you keep your head up and focus on persevering, you’ll do good here,” Akers advised.
The 16 to 18-year-old cadets spend 22 weeks volunteering, taking vocational courses and working toward high school diplomas.
The cadets, considered at the onset as at-risk students, become a close knit group.
“There’s no way you can’t rely on one another. The whole company is a team. If one person gets out of hand, the whole company is pretty much out of hand. You all get punished for the same thing,” Akers explained.
Each student who finishes the quasi-military program participates in a one year post graduation program.
Akers will keep in touch with a mentor while working toward a biology degree.
“Coming here they showed me that maybe I’m a lot better than I thought I was. Taking my ACT test, I qualify for PROMISE scholarship. Now I have plans to go to the University of Charleston,” said Akers.
Akers, the class spokesman, addressed the 137 cadets.
“My message for my graduates, it’s going to be basically how we went from a bunch of kids who had no faith in ourselves to a family who pushed ourselves to be better than anything any of us could have imagined,” Akers said.
Teens volunteer to be part of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe academy. Since its inception, 3,279 cadets have completed the program.