Student Earns Rank in Naval Sea Cadet Program

The Montverde Academy community has seen cadets from the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps’ color guard present the colors at Montverde Academy events such as Convocation, Graduation and numerous athletic events. The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps is national youth leadership development organization that promotes interest and skill in naval disciplines while instilling strong moral character and life skills through leadership and technical programs modeled after Naval programs.

MVA sophomore, Kurt Schindele, has been participating in the program for six years first with the Centurion Battalion in Winter Park, and then as part of the Clermont Battalion Sea Cade Corps which was established in 2017 and is led by Kurt’s father, Gary Schindele. Kurt recently earned the honor of a formal pinning ceremony to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. This is the highest rank achievable in the Sea Cadet program, and a very small percentage of cadets make it to this rank.

“Being pinned Chief has been the result of an enormous amount of time, effort, energy, stressful moments, learning opportunities, frustration, pride, friendship, and lot of “motivational” pushups,” said Kurt. “This honor has made me feel accomplished. Since my beginning in Sea Cadets at age ten, my goal has been to make chief. This has been six years in the making and has given me a feeling that I can accomplish anything.”

Congratulations Kurt!