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Clay County TSA Students Bring Home National Honors

Clay Technology Student Association (TSA) members and 2025 CMI2 Ignite Interns at Fort Andrew proudly representing Clay TSA at the 2025 National TSA Conference in Nashville, TN. Left to right: Morgan Payton, Alivia Gilliland, and Jaxon Brown. (Photo courtesy of the Family of Jaxon Brown)

July 10, 2025

CMI2’s commitment to fostering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent through our strategic involvement remains a core value of our company. Doing this, we have helped to empower students in our communities, including Clay County.

 

Community Impact

Through our CMI2 ILLUME (Innovating, Learning, Leading, Uniting, Making, Experimenting) program, Clay TSA (Technology Student Association) participants have access to mentorship, advanced tools, laptops, 3D printers, CAD software, and professional-grade equipment.

We are especially proud to partner with the outstanding Clay TSA (Technology Student Association), which includes students from both the middle and high school.

Throughout the 2024–2025 program year, CMI2 and ILLLUME provided substantial support for STEM-related activities and outreach events including mentorship and equipment support for TSA participants.

 

Success on the National Stage

At CMI2, we believe in empowering the next generation of innovators and celebrating their achievements as they pave the way toward a brighter technological future. It is our greatest pleasure to congratulate the talented students from Clay County who showcased their incredible skills at the 2025 National TSA Conference!

At the recent 2025 TSA National Conference in Nashville, TN, Clay County students represented West Virginia well on the national stage with six projects making the Top 10 and three others advanced to the semi-finals, ultimately finishing inside the top 25.

Clay TSA award winners:

  • 3rd Place – Challenging Technology Issues
    • Clay County Middle School: Gunner Dobbins and Hannah Gandee
  • 3rd Place – Forensic Science
    • Clay County High School: Keaira Asbury and Avery Broulliard
  • 4th Place – Music Production (High School)
    • Clay County High School: Jaxon Brown
  • 6th Place – Children’s Stories (High School)
    • Clay County High School: Ariel Dobbins and Lillian Starcher
  • 10th Place – STEM Mass Media (Brand New Event!)
    • Clay County High School: Sawyer Dobbins and Ariel Dobbins
  • 10th Place – Technical Design
    • Clay County Middle School: Marissa Atha and Roxy Schoolcraft

In addition, Clay County students stood out in the TEAM+S Competition, showcasing their versatility and leadership:

  • Extemporaneous Speech: Parker Taylor, Clay County High School
  • Geospatial Technology: Jaxon Brown, Morgan Payton, and Alivia Gilliland, Clay County High School

 

👉 Read more about West Virginia’s fantastic showing at the 2025 TSA Conference here.

 

Celebrating Our Ignite Interns

It’s no surprise that the Clay TSA high school team once again included several 2025 CMI2 Ignite interns.

Congratulations to Jaxon Brown, Alivia Gilliland, and Morgan Payton for their accomplishments and an outstanding 2025 national conference.  These young innovators are all proud CMI2 Ignite interns or alumni of the program. Alivia began her internship at Fort Andrew this summer. Jaxon is a returning intern who originally joined our team in 2024. Morgan joined our team in 2024 and worked throughout the past schoolyear supporting the Fort Andrew Makerspace and just ended her internship on June 30. Morgan also served as the State Vice President for the West Virginia TSA for the 2024-2025 school year.

a man and woman stand together at a conference
CMI2 Ignite interns Morgan Payton and Jaxon Brown proudly represented Clay County TSA in a Problem Solving event at the 2025 TSA National Conference, showcasing their teamwork, innovation, and dedication to STEM excellence. (Photo courtesy of the Family of Jaxon Brown).

 

Here’s an overview of their accomplishments at the 2025 National Conference:

  • Jaxon Brown and Alivia Gilliland – Placed in the top 10 for Music Production, as well as honored with the prestigious Gold Achievement Award for their dedication to service leadership, STEM immersion, and personal and professional growth.
  • Jaxon Brown, Morgan Payton, and Alivia Gilliland – Placed in the top 24 for Geospatial Technology

Congratulations Morgan, Jaxon, and Alivia! We are so proud!

Wrap up

Our community focus aims to ensure we provide and share resources to enable students to develop solutions to real-world challenges and see their potential. From designing architectural models to creating original music, investigating forensic scenarios, or visualizing geospatial data, CMI2 supports students so that they can thrive in any field of their choice.

The ILLUME program is supported by funding from the Benedum Foundation and has recently received additional support from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

We are honored to support the impactful work already happening in Clay County through programs like TSA. These achievements highlight the technical expertise, resilience, creativity, and passion for innovation of students, reflecting this community’s strong commitment to modernizing and enhancing STEM education.

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