February 20, 2026
CMI2 has officially launched the inaugural ILLUME Rope Rescue & Wilderness First Aid Course with our partners at Braxton County High School. This first-of-its-kind collaboration marks a significant step for local students and enhances hands-on STEM education in West Virginia.
The immersive course instruction will take place on Fridays over the next several weeks: February 20 and 27, March 6 and 13, all building toward the real-world final on April 3. That’s when students will put their skills to the test during a full-day, high-angle rescue exercise at CMI2’s Adaptive Experimentation Facility at Fort Andrew in Lizemores, WV.
Real-World STEM in Action
As part of the ILLUME program, BCHS students participate in real-world problem solving through integrated Rope Rescue and Wilderness First Aid training. The course provides hands-on challenges that require teamwork, critical thinking, and determination.
Instead of separating math and science from applications, students use them in real time. Through this specialized ILLUME course, students will work through scenario-based training that includes:
- Load calculations
- Mechanical advantage systems
- Angle and force distribution
- Risk assessment principles
On the medical side, they are gaining life-saving skills, including:
- Wilderness First Aid
- CPR/AED certification
- Austere bleeding control
And that is just the start.
Students will also train in survival priorities, patient assessments, airway and breathing management, environmental emergency response, wound care, infection prevention, and land navigation.
“Our ILLUME outreach program gives us the foundation to provide these practical, high-value skills,” said Walter “Wally” Hatfield, CMI2 Vice President of Experimentation and Training. “We designed this training originally for Soldiers and first responders around the realities of remote environments, like we have in West Virginia, and the opportunity to tailor it to high school students through ILLLUME is fantastic.”
Building Skills That Matter
The rope rescue component introduces students to technical rescue systems and equipment, including various types of gear, knot tying, proper anchoring methods, and the use of mechanical advantage systems. Students apply mathematical principles in real-time as they construct and operate rescue systems under instructor supervision.
The program culminates on April 3 with a high-angle rescue scenario, giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in a realistic, hands-on environment that mirrors professional emergency response situations.
Hatfield emphasized the program’s goal: bridging classroom learning with practical skills application.
“Bringing STEM curriculum together with hands-on learning and real-world experts opens up huge opportunities for public education,” Hatfield said. “At CMI2, we believe the future is STEM, and when students get to apply what they are learning in real-world settings, they stay more engaged and are better prepared to lead and compete in the years ahead.”
Preparing Students through STEM
Beyond technical training, the course emphasizes leadership development, teamwork, and communication. Students must think critically under pressure, collaborate effectively, and demonstrate personal courage — building resilience, accountability, and confidence along the way.
“This is STEM with purpose and grit,” Hatfield said. “One of the key tenets of ILLUME is the second ‘L’, which stands for LEADING. Through this partnership with Braxton, we are leaning into a perspective that a focus on STEM will prepare students to lead when it matters most.”
By the end of the program, students earn industry-recognized certifications that strengthen their resumes and open doors to future opportunities in emergency services, firefighting, law enforcement, healthcare, outdoor leadership, military service, and technical rescue.
Through this integrated STEM learning model, students don’t just study science and math, they apply those skills in real-life. They don’t just learn about healthcare; they practice and learn life-saving skills.
What’s Next
As ILLUME continues to expand, partnerships like the one with Braxton County High School demonstrate what is possible when innovation, education, and community come together, preparing the next generation to meet real-world challenges with skill, confidence, and purpose.
Since its inception in 2023, CMI2 has worked to expand its technology- and innovation-focused education and workforce training program, ILLUME, beyond Clay County, West Virginia, to support economic development in underserved and rural communities throughout West Virginia and Mississippi. To read more about other success stories from the CMI2 ILLUME program, visit our blog cmi2.org/blog.
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