Students enrolled in the WVU Extension Young Innovators program participated in the Mountain State Innovators Summit at Stonewall Resort. Youth pitched their innovative ideas and won prizes and community/classroom grants to move them forward.
Cheryl Kaczor, associate professor from the WVU Extension Marshall County office, worked with students at Moundsville Middle School and John Marshall High School in creating ideas for a pitch competition at the Mountain State Summit. Teachers Kim Ghaphery from MMS and Andy Gaudino from JMHS recruited students and worked with them on their pitches/presentations throughout the fall. Their hard work paid off.
MMS students Addie Billington, Hattie Brautigan, Luke Colby, Delilah Cox, Liberty Cuffaro, Bentley Dolin, Dalton Earnest, Emma Hill, Dominic Kennen, Lily Patrello , Cash Reilly, Roxanne Ungar, Garrett Wise , Kaysi Woods and Laylah Yoho captured first place in the Betty Davis Middle School Pitch Contest titled “My Hometown is Cool!”
The middle school students won $3,500. Their project is called “Graffiti: Turning Vandalism into Art” and involves many community leaders. It is also in partnership with Campbell Signs and Banners, a local Moundsville business, as well as the John Marshall Career & Technical Education Department. The proposal is for three free standing graffiti walls to be placed on Jefferson Avenue on the sight of the fire last spring. This will include picnic tables and maybe lighting. The hope is to bring revenue to Moundsville.
JMHS students Cooper Berlin, Uriah Dolin, Josh Elias, Kai Finney, Cam Hoyt, Trever McCarthy and Hanna Oliver also won $500 for their project about an AI garbage can called “Smart Cycle.”
All students received gift cards to Amazon and various other prizes raffled off during the week. Each of the teachers received an array of classroom supplies. Everything from lodging, food and prizes were donated by the Hayhurst Family Foundation.
The Hayhurst Family Foundation announced an additional award via a donation of $25,000 to a food pantry in each county of the Young Innovators participants. The food pantries receiving this donation were identified by WVU Extension and program partners as key organizations addressing food insecurity in school communities with the Young Innovators Program.
Students from MMS and JMHS presented a $25,000 check to the Shepherd's Pantry in Marshall County, located at 601 Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville.
The Young Innovators from the middle and high school can submit their project at another pitch competition “SPARK”, being held in spring 2026.