The Moundsville Middle School Young Innovators club, a program facilitated by West Virginia University Extension, hosted a kickoff event on May 6 to celebrate the opening of their Graffiti Wall, a student-driven initiative to beautify and bring art into their community.
During the event, participating students gave presentations about their work to bring the Moundsville Graffiti Wall to life over the school year.
Students turned a vacant lot in downtown Moundsville into a hub where community members can gather and share their artistic talents by adding to the wall. Moundsville Young Innovators noticed graffiti in their town and recognized that much of it was just art with nowhere to go. Students wanted to “turn vandalism into art” by creating this space for art with hopes of highlighting this artistic expression in a way that beautified their community.
“I’m just so proud of all the work these kids have put into this project. They hit it out of the park. I helped to teach them some of the curriculum and brainstorm ideas, but these students completely owned this project from start to finish and accomplished something really great for our community,” said Cheryl Kaczor, WVU Extension agent in Marshall County.
This project began in August, when students in Kimberly Ghaphery’s class came together to participate in Young Innovators. Students were taught a series of lessons by Kaczor, their local Extension agent, to guide them through the process of ideation and pitch development.
Students presented their idea on stage at the Mountain State Innovators Summit in November 2025 and won first place in the middle school category, taking home $3,500 to turn their idea into a reality.
“My favorite part of this program was winning at the Mountain State Innovators Summit and seeing the beautiful outcomes of all our work, as I joined Young Innovators because I wanted to help my community and make it a nicer, more fun place to be,” said Hattie Brautigan, a student on the team. “In the process, I got to meet new people, try different things and take a step outside of my comfort zone.”
The Young Innovators program is a free, hands-on WVU Extension initiative with 13 pilot programs in 9 counties. It was designed to empower middle and high school students with real-world skills in leadership, creativity and entrepreneurial problem-solving.
“I wanted to join Young Innovators because of the opportunity it would provide. It strengthened skills like critical thinking and teamwork that I can use in the real world,” said Emma Hill, another student in the club. “I enjoyed being in Young Innovators because I met some brilliant people who offered learning opportunities and helped our team develop more detailed ideas.”
Through interactive sessions emphasizing teamwork and collaboration, students transform their ideas into tangible projects that address real community challenges.
In the first semester, students focused on ideation, identifying community assets and coming up with ideas that build upon them.
“These students are practicing entrepreneurial problem solving in a real world setting where they lead a project that is important to them,” said Margaret Taylor, program manager of Young Innovators. “Students are not only identifying a problem and developing a solution, but they're also developing skills including ideation, communication, teamwork, financial literacy, project coordination and others that will benefit them in their futures.”
The Moundsville Graffiti Wall is now open to the public, located on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Second Avenue in Moundsville, West Virginia. Join in on the community by adding your own art to the wall, as long as it follows the guidelines posted at the wall.
If you're interested in starting a Young Innovators club in your own community, fill out the interest form, and a team member will follow up with more information.
“When the kids see that we are 100% behind them and encouraging them, not telling them what to do, but instead helping to guide them on the next steps, they are truly able to take off,” said Taylor.
The funding for the Moundsville Graffiti Wall was provided by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Young Innovators were awarded funding after pitching their idea at the Mountain State Innovators Summit, hosted by the Hayhurst Family with additional support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Verizon Wireless, and Huntington Bank. These gifts were made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.
If you want to learn more about WVU Extension, visit extension.wvu.edu or follow @WVUExtension on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
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sk/05/08/26
CONTACT: Sydney Keener
Communications Specialist
WVU Division for Land-Grant Engagement
304-293-8986; sydney.keener@mail.wvu.edu