Jacob Keeley: Discovered His True Calling
That change of course had a lot to do with a key faculty mentor Keeley met during his time at Alma, Derick “Sandy” Hulme. Now with a clear path toward the future, Keeley said he can’t wait for what comes next in life, and he’s more than prepared to take it on.
“I keep in close touch with a lot of my friends who don’t go to Alma,” said Keeley, a third-year senior from Linden, Mich. “They have gone into their chosen fields and figured out pretty quickly that they don’t want to do what they studied to do. Here, I have had the opportunity to go through different classes in the liberal arts curriculum that I would not have seen otherwise. I’ve been able to build relationships and develop skills I wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s made me into a different person, and that’s a good thing.”
Keeley is a history and political science double-major at Alma. One of his key experiences at the college has been his involvement with the nationally-recognized Model United Nations (MUN) program, which has completed — and captured the highest awards — for 25 consecutive years at the national finals in New York City.
Keeley credits his involvement in MUN with having helped him make some of his closest friendships on campus, and develop important life skills necessary for any job.
But it’s also helped him figure out what he wants to do for a living. Through MUN, and with financial support from the Alma Posey Global (P-Global) Leadership Fellows Program, Keeley has traveled overseas twice; once to Sierra Leone and once to India.
While in Sierra Leone, Keeley stayed at the City Garden Clinic in Makeni, and talked to natives about the Sierra Leone Civil War of 1991-2002. Keeley studied the judicial process of the West African nation, and while he said he appreciated the nation and the people he stayed with, he realized in staying there that law was not the field for him.
Keeley realized his true calling while staying at the Shiv Nadar School, outside of New Delhi, India, where he was also able to travel to through MUN, and with financial support from P-Global. There, Keeley taught students in grades 4 through 12 about MUN, and he decided that he would become a college professor.
“I’ve found that working with young people is extremely rewarding. More important than getting a good grade is in understanding ideas, and seeing that lightbulb go off in a young person’s head is a great feeling. I see it as a way to change the world in a very real way,” Keeley said.
Keeley would like to inspire change in much the same way as Hulme, who works as the advisor of MUN. Keeley said Hulme actually played a key role in bringing him to Alma in the first place; when, at a conference that took place before Keeley joined Alma, Hulme took an interest in he and his studies.
“I walked up to him and shook his hand, and I thought he would blow me off. Instead, he sat down with me and we talked for an hour about what I wanted to do with my life. At that moment, I decided I wanted to go to Alma and work with Dr. Hulme, and since then, I have done so in every term that I’ve been here,” Keeley said.
“He is someone who really, truly cares. I have taken him for several courses and worked with him through MUN. He works you very hard and gives you tough love when you need it. But he’s always there for you and has really helped me to realize what I want to do with my life.”
Keeley, along with three other students, Katelyn Steih, Luke Losie and Madison Hall, have been named finalists in the 2023-24 Fulbright Scholarship competition. If they all succeed, they will become Alma College’s 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd Fulbright scholars.
If Keeley wins the award, he says, he will return to India to teach English and hopefully an extracurricular MUN program. Regardless of what happens, though, Keeley says he is prepared for life after Alma, thanks in large part to the lessons acquired here.
“Dr. Hulme says all the time, ‘Model UN really isn’t about the United Nations — it’s a life skills class,’” Keeley said. “You learn to stand up and speak, to make hard decisions, to stand up for what you believe in and write effectively. When you go out in the real world, these are valuable skills for engaging with employers and everyday people. That’s what I’ve learned here at Alma.”