Brandon Quandt likes to keep busy, and it shows from his time at MiraCosta College.

Quandt began taking classes at MiraCosta College in the summer before he started 10th grade at Pacific Coast Academy. This spring, he’ll be graduating from high school and preparing to transfer to either UC Los Angeles or UC Berkeley. He was one of five students selected to receive the 2025 Medal of Academic Merit, awarded to students with outstanding scholarship and involvement in the community.

In addition to his high school and college studies, Quandt is president of MiraCosta’s Associated Student Government (ASG) and has served as president of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society, president of the Data Science Club, and administrative lead for Computer Science for the Common Good club.

“I definitely have a Google calendar with everything all planned out,” he said.

As president of the student government, Quandt said he worked to try to get more participation in the statewide Student Senate. He also advocated to try to adding safer bike lanes for MiraCosta’s San Elijo campus.

Quandt’s family has a long history with MiraCosta College. Both his brother and sister graduated from MiraCosta College and spoke highly of their time there. He had high praise for the faculty and staff members at MiraCosta.

“My professors have always been a huge encouragement to me and believed in me,” he said. “Everyone whom I’ve met at MiraCosta fosters a care for the community. I know that they care.”

Quandt said he’s had a longtime interest in computers and will be receiving a certificate in software engineering. He plans to major in computer engineering when he transfers.

He said he learned that he didn’t have to go it alone when he was dealing with balancing all of his time commitments.

“MiraCosta taught me that it’s OK to rely on others for help,” Quandt said. “It’s not like a competition to see who can do the most work. You can rely on each other.”