2L Kelly Reeves committed to Veterans Advocacy Organization’s success

Kelly Reeves, a 2L from Hardin County, Kentucky, grew up around Fort Knox and was a self-proclaimed “Army brat.” Still, she never thought she would enlist herself.

“I was a little preppy girl growing up,” she said.

But that disposition changed during her junior year after a National Guard recruiter spoke at her high school, outlining the tuition assistance program available for those who joined. She enlisted when she was 17.

Not long after basic training, she was deployed to Bosnia, returning home from the war-torn country on Sept. 11, 2001. Because of the timing of her return (just hours before the terrorist attacks), her unit was forced to stay at Fort Benning, Georgia, for 10 days before finally getting the green light to come home.

Reeves was deployed again in January of 2003, this time to Kuwait. The Iraq War started in March of that same year and her unit was one of the first to cross over into Iraq after the official declaration of war.

“When we crossed the border, the civilians were cheering us on. They were excited someone was there to try to help them,” she said. Her unit was able to help with humanitarian missions, such as providing hygiene supplies and helping engineers re-build schools. An Iraqi woman told her (through a translator), that her daughter would be able to attend school for the first time.

Reeves was a part of an MP Brigade who operated out of Abu Ghraib prison and other detention facilities in Southern Iraq, helping to transport prisoners and supplies and providing security for convoys. For several months, she was assigned to a Criminal Investigation Division (CID) unit, who interviewed and interrogated prisoners.

“Sometimes we’d get a nugget of information that we’d be able to connect to something else. Getting down to the bottom of the story and applying facts was my favorite part,” Reeves said. It also confirmed her next path – law school.

“I actually wanted to go to law school before I knew I was going to get into the military. Everything I did was leading up to my goal of going to law school,” Reeves said. All of the training she had done – as part of the JAG Corps and as a military police officer, was in the legal realm.

Reeves applied to other regional schools, but felt a greater sense of comradery here.

“You belong to a team when you’re in the military – everyone has each other’s back and the support system is huge. When I came here, I had that exact same feeling. They wanted me to be on their team and they wanted to be part of my journey,” Reeves said.

During her 1L year, Reeves joined two other Brandeis students, including the late Jeremy Woodruff and Joshua Norman, to start a Veterans Advocacy Organization.

“One of the things you hear about when you first come to school here are all of the different organizations, but there wasn’t an organization for veterans. Law school can be overwhelming and we wanted to find out who the other veterans were and help each other through it,” Reeves said.

Despite the untimely and unexpected death of Woodruff in September, Reeves and her fellow veterans have continued to work on the fledgling organization, outlining a variety of objectives including networking events with other veterans who are part of Louisville’s bench and bar.

“Jeremy was fundamental in connecting us with the Legal Aid Society and working with their program geared toward veterans and assisting them in an array of legal issues,” Reeves said. “We are starting to do more networking events and trying to get connected with local attorneys who are willing to fulfill mentoring roles for our members.”

Reeves has been the beneficiary of such networking, having been introduced to Larry Franklin, a renowned local attorney, Brandeis alum, and retired Navy Admiral.

“Through the course of emailing and networking, I was introduced to Admiral Franklin and he had a clerk spot open and I applied and got the job,” Reeves said. “I love it. Every day I learn something new.”

The VAO will continue to grow, she said, with the help of a strong group of veterans currently attending Brandeis (she estimates there are at least 16).

“We have the broad spectrum of service here; active duty, Navy, Marines, Army, National Guard, Reserves,” Reeves said. “Many of the veterans are non-traditional students who have families and may commute, so it’s harder for them to get involved. But we intend to keep this going and to grow this group.”