Finding the Right Path: A Mother’s Journey to Support Her Son’s Success at MMA

Lisa Tike describes her son Suneil, currently a freshman at Missouri Military Academy, as generous and kind.

“He’s just the most amazing kid and has such a giving heart,” she says.

His name reflects his Indian heritage and stands for all the good qualities you might want to see in a man, such as brave, handsome, and smart.

From left to right, Suneil Tike with his mother, Lisa, and his sister, Lila.

“He started reading Harry Potter at six years old, and he’s got a great sense of humor,” she adds with pride.

As he entered high school in their hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, in the fall of 2024, she watched him struggle with motivation. He didn’t lack the ability to complete assignments, but he didn’t follow through to turn them in.

“In his previous school, the teachers didn’t care if he turned in his work. They gave him a zero and moved on,” she said.

She had considered sending Suneil to MMA summer camp in the summer of 2024 but didn’t. She knew he needed a change by the time the fall semester ended. While visiting MMA for an open house event, she says that listening to MMA President Geraci speak about the pillars of MMA’s military education model – structure, discipline, accountability, and personal responsibility – convinced her that the Academy was the right fit for her son.

“Everything President Geraci said was exactly what Suneil needs,” she says.

“People think this is a boot camp, but this is not one of those schools,” Tike says. “This is a college-prep academy with a military background, not a home for wayward boys. They’ve been around for 135 years, so they must be doing something right.”

Suneil arrived at the Academy to begin the January 2025 semester. Tike says her biggest concerns were that he wouldn’t be receptive to the MMA system, that he would let homesickness take over, and wouldn’t give the Academy a chance. She says he did try to barter and talk his way out of attending when the decision was first made, but once he arrived, he told her it was not as bad as he thought it would be.

“He seems happier and more settled every time I talk to him,” she says, after his first month at the Academy. “He says the food is really good, and he seems to be getting along well with the other cadets and making friends. I don’t hear from him as often as I would like, but that shows he’s not homesick.”

Tike says Suneil thrives on structure. She chose the Academy to provide an environment where expectations are communicated, cadets are supported to meet those expectations, and they are held accountable for doing so.

“Cadet Tike is quiet, very focused, and is continually engaged in class. He has adapted well to the rigors of MMA in a very short time,” says MMA science instructor Eric Evertson. Photo above and below: Cadet Tike completes a science experiment in Mr. Evertson's class.

His academic advisor agrees. “He’s been able to make friends and come out of his shell more as time has gone on,” says MMA English/language arts instructor and faculty advisor Danielle DeTienne. “I look forward to seeing him continue to grow and flourish at MMA."

Lisa Tike says she can already tell a difference in her son: “Every time I talk to him, he sounds so grown up.”

One of the biggest challenges families often face when sending their children to boarding school is making sacrifices for them to be away from home.

While he may be away, Tike reminds him that she is always here for him.

“I tell him, ‘I’m your biggest supporter and the number one person on your team. If there is a problem, I will be there.”

For Tike, she saw her son’s potential and knew she wanted him to have every opportunity to achieve at his highest level. She expects MMA to give him what he needs to grow into the best person he can be and to set him up for success.

 “Suneil has the ability to be extremely successful,” she says. “I didn’t have the ability to get him there. MMA does.”

A piece of home — Cadet Tike holds a King Cake from his mother's business, Lilah's King Cakes. Lisa Tike sent cakes for MMA faculty and staff to share.

A business owner for the past 18 years, Tike owns and operates Lilah’s King Cakes in Shreveport. The business is open only during the Mardi Gras season and is the largest king cake producer in north Louisiana, producing 22,000 king cakes a year, according to Tike.

“Three months out of the year, life is crazy,” Tike says, adding that Suneil has grown up in the bakery.

The other nine months, she says they enjoy time as a family, taking extended trips, such as to Germany and India or camping trips to places like Niagara Falls.