FAIRMONT – Eight Fairmont State University students with diverse majors from architecture to the professional flight program to nursing are the 2026 recipients of the Presidential Scholarship, the school announced.
They are:
Brayden Morton, Mount Nebo – Professional Flight
Iskandar Aoun, Fairfax, Va. – Architecture
Juliana Layman, Fairmont – Nursing
Kathleen Grant, Middletown, Va. – Architecture
Makenzie Bowen, Fort Wayne, Ind. – Architecture
Maria Day, Bridgeport – Biology
Samuel Waybright, Shinnston – Education
Ty McCloud, Bristol – Civil Engineering Technology
“These recipients have distinguished themselves through exceptional academic achievement, leadership and commitment to excellence,” President Mike Davis said of the latest cohort.
To qualify, recipients must have maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 in high school, while scoring no lower than a 26 on their ACT or 1180 on their SAT.
An application, essay and on-campus interview are also part of the process.
Meanwhile, the latest crop of honorees reflects the new width and breadth of the school’s renewed mission, Davis said.
“We are especially pleased to welcome our first out-of-state recipients,” the president continued, “a milestone that reflects Fairmont State University’s commitment to academic excellence, student success and accessible education.”
In addition to tuition and lodging support, the scholarship also awards up to $500 per semester toward textbook purchases in the university bookstore.
The scholarship was established in honor of Charles J. McClain, a longtime educator and administrator who began his career teaching in a one-room schoolhouse and went to found a college in Missouri.
McClain served as Fairmont State’s interim president in 2008.
During that tenure, he helped oversee the revisioning of Pierpont Community and Technical College as a separate entity from the main campus on Locust Avenue.
