On a mission: A Marquette veteran’s journey from service to advocacy

Graduate & Professional Studies, Law

On a mission: A Marquette veteran's journey from service to advocacy

From the United States Navy to Marquette Law School, one veteran thrives on finding ways to give back to his community

Feeling called to enlist in the United States Navy at 17 doesn't happen to most high school students. But when Allen Keller, now a second-year Marquette Law School student, was urged by a National Guard member who was impressed with his armed services vocational test, Keller saw the opportunity to lead a life of service.

From his small, rural hometown in Wonewoc, Wisconsin, Keller enlisted in the Navy to enroll in the Enlisted Nuclear Propulsion Program after being inspired by a 100,000-volt Tesla coil that was built by his eighth grade Boy Scout troop. During this experience, Keller learned how electricity worked, how atoms can impact everyday life and even got to attend the Nuclear Science Merit Badge Day at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"At first, I was hesitant to reach out as I was intimidated by the process of joining the Navy and being in the military," Keller says. "However, as graduation grew closer, I saw the Navy as a way to get both education and experience. So, I reached out to the Madison Navy recruiter to get enlisted."

After enlisting, he spent his first two years learning how to operate nuclear reactors, followed by four years aboard the USS North Dakota and three years on shore duty at the HS Nautilus and Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.

"The four years consisted of serving on board an active-duty submarine for various underway and deployment operations," Keller says. "I can't disclose too much about it, but effectively I was an electronic technician."

An electronic technician is responsible for overseeing the nuclear reactors used on Navy submarines, which are typically self-sufficient. Sailor supervision is required to ensure that the reactor and its instrumentation run properly. Keller explains that the hardest part of his role on the submarine had little to do with his day-to-day duties or the complex devices he was required to operate; rather, he struggled with his mental health.

"It was really hard," Keller says. "We'd go underway, and you would have no communication with people. I could rarely reach out to my family - we were scarcely allowed access to email. There were times that you wouldn't know what was going on in the world."

Although isolated, Keller connected with his fellow shipmates in his free time through games like cribbage and Euchre.

"I was thrown off when I saw them playing Euchre," Keller says. "These are people from Georgia and Alabama playing a classic Midwestern game while we were stationed on the East Coast."

During his time underwater, Keller was able to reflect on his values and realized his passion for social and administrative work, which led him in the direction of law school. In his last few days as an active-duty sailor, Keller started at Marquette Law School.

"I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer - so law school was a landing spot to combine that passion for administrative duties along with the desire to continue my education and help others," Keller says. "I found my calling to go to law school, and here I am in my second year."

Focusing his studies on environmental law, Keller is now an executive board member of the Environmental Law Society at Marquette. In this student organization, Keller recognized the importance of volunteering, which pointed him in the direction of pro bono work through Marquette's Volunteer Legal Clinic.

"It's the best way to gain hands-on experience of legal issues that everyday people see in society," Keller says. "I really enjoy knowing that two hours of time can impact someone's life that would have taken them years to recover from if we weren't there to help them."

After law school, Keller's sights are set around public service and giving back. It's how he lives out the motto "Be The Difference" - a value he holds true in his academic and professional careers.

Although recently retired from the Navy, Keller reflects on what Veterans Day means to him as he continues his next mission in life - completing law school.

"To me, Veterans Day is memorializing the people who came before us," Keller says. "Remembering those who paved the path to make it easier for us and giving back in the ways we are able to in order to support those in our community."

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