August 6, 2025
As the 2025 Ignite Internship Program draws to a close, we’re celebrating the contributions of our interns at CMI2’s Adaptive Experimentation Facility at Fort Andrew in Clay County, West Virginia.
Today, we feature two site specialists: recent Clay County High School graduate Noah Collins and rising senior Zaiah Minger, who spent their summer supporting site operations at Fort Andrew. Although both have only been on staff briefly, they share the impact of their experience in today’s blog.
Discovering CMI2’s Reach and Impact
Even with its notable reputation, both Noah and Zaiah admitted they were surprised to discover the extent of CMI2’s operations and impact, especially at the one-of-a-kind experimentation facility at Fort Andrew.
“I didn’t really even know [CMI2] was a military, like, sanctioned thing. And now that I’m here, I realize how important it is,” Noah said. “It’s pretty amazing. Like, you really, until you’re here, you don’t realize how much stuff goes on under the scene.”
Zaiah described her surprise at learning about the company’s reach.
“The amount of people that are actually involved here, and how we have all kinds of these different companies that help us,” Zaiah said. “People that come through here, like generals and units. I’m like, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize we had all these people lined up!’ So it’s been pretty shocking.”
Hands-On Experience
The Ignite internship is a unique part of the CMI2 ILLUME (Innovating, Learning, Leading, Uniting, Making, Experimenting) program’s mission to nurture future innovators from Clay County and build local talent through real-world experience in tactical innovation.
Throughout the summer, interns work closely with the experienced Fort Andrew staff, gaining hands-on experience in a dynamic environment and collaborating on projects. Interns engage in various tasks related to supporting special experimentation events, in addition to providing operational support.
Noah joined the team with the first group of interns at the end of May, which provided him the opportunity to support the most recent Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days event (DD25-03), including Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Recapping his summer, Noah described the event as a favorite time this summer, with the opportunity to meet so many new people, saying, “Everybody was real nice and there was just a community between all CMI2.”
Zaiah joined the team in mid-June and seized every opportunity.
“I think this is a really good program, especially to get you started… It’s very controlled, very, it helps you get your hands, you know, working and stuff,” Zaiah said. “I think it’s very good for us, people that were still in high school when we’re just getting out in the world… a very good opportunity for us to understand and get experience. And it’s pretty sick.”
Zaiah and Noah are two of eight dedicated site specialists at Fort Andrew this summer. Other specialists include Wyatt Coleman, Eli Dorsey, Eli Metheney, Kaden Fitzwater, Owen Tinney, and Alivia Gilliland. All individuals will leave the internship experience with certifications in Stop the Bleed, CPR, AED, Basic Wilderness Rescue and Ropes Rescue.
Service and Community Engagement
At CMI2, we believe community stability is critical for national security. That’s why our Ignite interns engage in both STEM education and dedicated community service during the summer. Zaiah and Noah’s experience was no exception.
Describing their local involvement in Clay County, Zaiah said, “We’ve helped a lot. We do trash pickups. The other day, we went to help with the [Mountaineer] food bank, and we packed food boxes and things like that. We’ve helped 4H, we’ve helped people along the roads, we’ve sponsored events for the town. We do all kinds of stuff.”
Noah echoed this sentiment, describing CMI2, noting, “They’ve done so much around the community. They’ve hired people, and they’ve really made a good name for themselves in Clay County.”
Thank you, Zaiah and Noah, for your contributions. We are excited to watch what you do next.
