Top #MMAProud Moments from 2020

As 2020 comes to a close, take a look back at some of the amazing things that have happened at MMA this year. After reviewing the past, take a look at MMA’s future by reading about our strategic plan. 

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MMA Rifle Team Places in State and National Championships  

MMA’s rifle team started and ended the year strong, from advancing past state competitions to breaking MMA records. In January 2020, MMA hosted the 2020 Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Air Rifle Missouri State Championship, where MMA competed against several nationally ranked teams. Amidst intense competition, MMA took sixth out of 13 teams, earning them a place at the JROTC Service Championship in Camp Perry, Ohio. At this national competition, MMA took fourth place as a team and William Baker ’20 took first place among all 123 sporter competitors.  

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MMA Band Earns Top Honors at National Military School Band and Choir Festival  

The MMA Band traveled to Virginia to compete at the 44th annual National Military School Band and Choir Festival held at Randolph-Macon Academy in February 2020. For the third straight year, MMA Band won the Ronald Horton award (the best prepared school award) at the festival. 

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MMA Fusileer Drill Team Wins First Place Among Military Secondary Schools  

For the second consecutive year, MMA’s Fusileer Drill Team won first place in the Association of Military Colleges & Schools of the United States (AMCSUS) national drill competition. The Fusileers competed and earned first place in Unarmed Regulation Drill in the 2020 competition. 

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Cadets Pack 3500 Buddy Packs in 2 Days to Help Meet Nutritional Needs for Local Kids  

MMA cadets stepped up to help address hunger in the community by expanding the Academy’s support of The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri’s Buddy Packs program. Throughout the school year, MMA cadets normally assemble 500 packs a week to help keep local school children fed over the weekend. In March 2020, cadets increased their effort to address food shortages for families during the COVID-19 pandemic by packing 3500 Buddy Packs in two days. 

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MMA Cadets Learned About — and Through — COVID-19 

Thanks to the diligence of MMA cadets, faculty and staff regarding the Academy’s COVID-19 protocols, MMA cadets remained on campus – their studies uninterrupted – throughout all of 2020. MMA faculty used the pandemic as a learning opportunity, bringing the topic of pandemics in historical, scientific, economic and cultural contexts into their curriculum. Through classroom lessons, MMA cadets explored critical and creative ways to look at the current global crisis. 

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MMA Corps Leaders Take Responsibility for JROTC Program for Accreditation Inspection  

During the spring 2020 semester, MMA cadet leaders assumed responsibility for the corps of cadets in the Academy’s annual JROTC Program for Accreditation (JPA) inspection. This year, Delta Company emerged with the highest scores and was named the JPA Inspection winner.  

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Class of 2020 Graduates with Over $7.7 Million in Scholarships Earned  

On May 15, 2020, the 131st MMA Corps of Cadets celebrated their graduation in the Academy’s Memorial Chapel. The commencement ceremony (watch video) and Final Formation (watch video) were closed to the public due to COVID-19 and shared via livestream. Altogether, MMA's Class of 2020 earned $7,792,828 in college scholarships and was accepted to 99 different colleges and universities around the world.  

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MMA Placed Third in Missouri State Raiders Championship  

MMA hosted the Missouri State Raiders Championship in October 2020. A total of 12 high schools, fielding 22 teams, from Missouri, Iowa and Kansas participated in the competition. MMA’s Colonels Raiders team took third place overall in the championship, finishing behind previous national champion contenders from Leavenworth and Ozark High School. The Colonels also took 2nd overall in the 5K. 

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Football Team Sees Best Season Since 1985  

This year, the MMA Colonels Football team ended the season with a 5-4 record, making them the first Colonels football team to achieve a winning season since 1985 (6-3 record). Additionally, Cadet Enrique Pardon ’22 broke MMA’s record for number of touchdowns in a single game (7) and yards (412 rushing and receiving) in a single game on October 16, 2020.   

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STEAM Programs Enhanced Through Community Support  

Supporting MMA’s strategic plan to enhance STEAM programs at MMA, the Veterans United Foundation awarded a $10,137 grant to MMA. This investment in MMA cadet education is in addition to support from the National JROTC Program — VEX robotic kits, valued at over $15,000, which will bring competitive robotic engineering to MMA’s JROTC curriculum in spring 2021.