Photo courtesy of the Niner Times

Dacien Montford gets ultimate full-circle moment with Golden Niner victory

By Wyatt Crosher, Assistant Director of Communications for Student Affairs

Before Dacien Montford became UNC Charlotte’s sixth-ever Golden Niner, he was a first-generation student from Gulfport, Miss. excited for a new place and opportunity to branch out.

Montford, a third-year senior exercise major with a minor in biology, started his Charlotte journey with the University Transition Opportunities Program. From there, as he was with his UTOP mentors in the Popp Martin Student Union, it didn’t take long for him to learn about the Golden Niner.

It also didn’t take long for him to consider becoming one some day.

“I can remember one of my mentors was telling me about the Niner 9 and the Golden Niner, and then we walked past the wall of Golden Niners in Student Involvement,” Montford said. “I was told it represents students who make a great impact on campus. At that time I was barely a freshman so I was like, ‘Whoa, I don't know if I could ever do that. But I mean by my senior year, shoot, that could be me.’”

Fast forward to Oct. 3, and Montford was one of those students chosen for the Niner 9, standing on the field at Jerry Richardson Stadium waiting to hear if his name would be called. He remembers walking on the field and trying to soak it all in while keeping down the nervousness of the moment.

“I was the last name to be said. And then they said, ‘Your 2026 Golden Niner is...’ They did a drum roll, and in a split second, I feel like I noticed that all the cameras were on me,” Montford said. “As soon as that thought crossed through my mind, I heard ‘Dacien Montford!’ I just kind of threw up my hands, and then I was clapping, like I didn't know what to do.

“That moment, it just felt like a moment of glory. It felt like a culmination of every single experience I had at Charlotte.”

The Golden Path

Montford’s road to becoming the Golden Niner didn’t simply begin when he arrived on campus, and the start of it was something out of his control.

When he was 15, Montford suffered a near-fatal heart attack that led to an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator being placed in his chest. It was a situation that initially led to self-doubt.

“In the moment,” Montford wrote in his Niner 9 application, “it was easy to feel different, to feel behind and to question why something like this would happen to me after being completely healthy my entire life.” 

It took time, but eventually, the life-threatening experience gave Montford more strength and clarity about his aspirations than ever before. It changed obstacles into motivations, and it led him to come into college with an added hunger. 

As Montford wrote: “This experience didn’t just make me grateful to be alive, it would make me relentless.”

It’s safe to say he capitalized on the opportunity.

Montford has been heavily involved throughout his time at Charlotte: Leadership Fellows graduate, at-large coordinator of the Black Organization Alliance Board, First-Year and Transition Programs student coordinator, as well as becoming a UTOP mentor himself in 2024. He is also president of two student organizations that he helped to bring to campus: The Purpose Project and Brothers in Medicine, which he was co-founder and a founding member for, respectively. 

Throughout his various roles and wide net of connections made, the idea of becoming the Golden Niner one day found its way back into Montford’s path, even if he wasn’t seeking it out.

While competing for the Man of DiSTinction Scholarship Pageant — a competition he would end up winning — one of Montford’s mentors was Ryen Boleware, Charlotte’s first ever Golden Niner. That prompted Montford to start reading up on former winners and seeing if it was something he could seek out.

That was when Montford discovered the founder of the BOAB was Kenan Moore, Charlotte’s third Golden Niner. Once he saw Moore at a Student Organizations Showcase event, Montford decided to make the leap.

“I was like ‘Hey man, what's going on? My name is Dacien Montford. I'm applying to be on this board that you started, and I want to be on the Niner 9. What do you think I can do? Do have any advice?,’” Montford said. “He took what I said and took me seriously.”

Moore gave Montford tips and advice on the process. The efforts paid off, and when Montford was tapped for the Niner 9, he said he was “awestruck.”

But the hard work didn’t stop there. Montford quickly got to campaigning, texting different groups he was a part of, spending late hours in the Atkins Library asking people about the Niner 9 and if they could take some time to vote, all while juggling his typical school work and the required Niner 9 campaigning events.

Montford described that week as one that pushed him to his limits more than any ever has at school. It was that level of effort that made what came next even more rewarding.

“I really tried to put my all into this, everything that I did, step by step with the process,” Montford said. “Now I can sit here and say that the hard work paid off.”

Setting the Pace

Montford plans to graduate this spring, and wants to keep pushing full steam ahead in pursuit of getting into a master’s program and pursuing a career as a certified anesthesiologist assistant.

“I just want to keep going,” he said. “I want to keep that momentum and drive that I had to do this and put it toward getting into graduate school.”

As a first-generation student and the oldest of seven — soon to be eight — Montford said he takes pride in being a positive role model for his siblings to look up to. He said they may not quite grasp the concept of the Golden Niner, but they understand the weight of the honor and the impact Montford is making.

“Being the oldest, you really do have to set the example. You set the pace. It shows them what’s possible,” Montford said. “I'm glad they can look at their big brother and know this is somebody that is doing something for his community.”

For someone who came into college looking for a chance to make an impact, Montford wants other incoming students to know that anything is possible with enough drive and determination.

“Don't be afraid to take a chance. You truly don't know what you're capable of until you give yourself a chance to see,” Montford said. “Charlotte is a big city. It's a big campus. There's always going to be a community out there for you. There's always going to be people that could use your ideas, that will value you, that you can pour into and that will pour back into you.”