HARLINGEN — Never aim too low.
That’s the advice of 17-year-old Claude Minkandi, a senior at Marine Military Academy.
“If you set your goals too low, you won’t learn to grow out of your comfort zone and become better than you thought you would ever be,” Claude said.
That philosophy has taken him far at the academy, where he is a student athlete and leader.
He is captain of the football team and track team. He also plays soccer.
He is editor of the yearbook, president of the Animal Care Club and vice president of the Leo Club. He is also a member of the Rotary Interact club.
The idea to attend MMA came from his step-father, who is from Harlingen. Claude was born in Paris, France, but moved to Houston with his family when he was around 13 years old.
“I started attending MMA my freshman year. My step-dad was born here in Harlingen and it was a place that he suggested to my mom,” Claude said.
“So we decided to take a visit down here and she really liked the school.”
At first, during his freshman year, he wasn’t too happy with the school. But that changed, and it was his decision to return for his sophomore, junior and senior years.
He says he has learned many valuable lessons from his time at the academy.
“I like the organization and discipline,” he said.
“It taught me time management skills, how to mature a lot faster than people in my age group and make hard decisions in a timely manner.”
Claude now knows what it takes to be a leader.
“It takes unselfishness. You really have to learn to put others ahead of you and be able to make those hard decisions and either take the consequences that come with it, or the glory when making the right one,” he said.
“It pretty much means making sure everyone subordinate to you are well taken care of and you get things done.”
