Cameron High School earns Champion of College Access and Success award, ranking top 40 in West Virginia

MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. ( WTRF ) – Cameron High School was recently recognized at the state level after being named CFWV Champions of College Access and Success.

Cameron is among 40 other high schools in the state recognized for their efforts in preparing students for post-secondary plans.

“It was exciting, especially to be one of the few. Only 40 schools were recognized, so one of a few across the state being recognized. We were excited to be one of those this year.”

Kelly Pettit | Counselor, Cameron High School

Kelly Pettit, the school counselor ( and former Golden Apple Winner ), says they earned this honor by meeting the three milestones.

This includes hosting a FAFSA workshop for students and parents, celebrating college application and exploration week and celebrating students who signed up to attend college.

But Cameron High School doesn’t only focus on students who are interested in college.

They also provide resources and events for students interested in the military or technical schools.

“We actually have an advisory period each week that students use for career planning and future post-secondary planning. So, we have a lot of presenters that come in from different colleges and military vendors. We have a Career and College Fair as well. We bring in as many resources as we can to the school so that the students have access to the people that they need to talk to.”

Kelly Pettit | Counselor, Cameron High School

Pettit feels it’s important to have these resources for students because many of them are not sure what they want to do after high school. “They may not have thought of something until all of a sudden someone came and spoke about it, and it piqued their interest. So, trying to get them as much exposure to all the different careers and post-secondary options, I feel is very important,” Pettit says.

Another notable accomplishment at Cameron High School includes the amount of scholarship money awarded to the Class of 2024.

Pettit works hard each day to ensure students know what kind of scholarships are available to them.

“It’s very important that the students have that access to college. But we also have to consider things like affordability. With some of the state level programs like the Promise Scholarship and the Invest grant and some of the local scholarships that we have here at the building, (we had a small graduating class last year) but they earned over $1.3 million in scholarships and educational opportunities. So, the money is out there. They just need the access and the idea that they can do it and the confidence that they will be successful whenever they go on to college.”

Kelly Pettit | Counselor, Cameron High School

Other area schools who received this award include Weirton Madonna and Tyler Consolidated high schools.

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