Lawrence McKeough

Meet Lawrence McKeough

Name: Lawrence "Mac" McKeough

Age: 57

School: American Military University

Target: Master of Public Administration in Disaster & Emergency Management, 2008

Lawrence R. "Mac" McKeough is currently attending American Military University, located in Charlestown, West Virginia. It is an appropriate setting, since he has had a long career in serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Lawrence graduated from the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in 1969. Soon after he joined the United States Navy and served his first assignment overseas in Vietnam. In 1971, he married his wife and was assigned to work aboard the USS Brewerton in Long Beach, California. Their first child, Chad, was born in 1972. He re-enlisted in and went on Shore Duty at Naval Air Station Moffett Field in California, working for the police department. His second child, Julie, was born in 1974.

His next assignment was to a Submarine Tender in San Diego. After being assigned to live in Holy Loch, Scotland, he completed requirements for the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) program, and received the ESWS pin. The family returned to California four years later and he applied for the Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Program. Of 365 people who applied in his specialty area, 18 were selected. Lawrence was third on the list.

“At about the same time, I found out I was on the promotion list for Senior Chief (E-8) – quite an honor for someone with just 13 years in the Navy. I was commissioned as a Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2) in April, 1983 and went to Officer Indoctrination (‘Knife and Fork School') in Pensacola, Florida, for six weeks,” he says.

Lawrence served for a year of isolated duty as a harbor master and diving officer for the Naval Support Facility in Diego Garcia. After leaving there he went to Rota, Spain, from 1984 to 1988, where he made CWO3 and applied to the LDO program for the second time.

Education Overseas—Before the Internet

At that time, he began taking courses through University of Maryland. While at sea, the only way to take classes was through a university instructor teaching onboard the ship.

“We didn't have the luxury of the Internet and distance learning, like they do onboard ships now,” explains Lawrence.

He was later assigned as the First Lieutenant (a Department Head tour) onboard the USS Mobile in Long Beach. After six months and having re-qualified for all of his watch stations, he put in a request to sit for his Surface Warfare Officer board and got it in 1988.

“I declined the orders and cross-decked to another ship in Long Beach so my kids could graduate and not have to move,” he says.

“Although I thought it was the right thing to do, I think I derailed my career a bit by turning down those orders and going to a smaller ship instead.” From 1989 to 1991, he reported to the USS Roanoke and then served as the Port Services Officer back in Long Beach before being selected as the Director of Emergency Services.

Leaving the Military

During his last two and one-half years in the Navy, he was the Director of Emergency Services for the naval station in Long Beach. His plan was to stay there on Shore Duty and then retire. Unexpectedly, he was thrust into the position and had to deal with events such as the Landers-Big Bear earthquake and Los Angeles riots of 1992, and the Northridge earthquake and Texaco refinery explosion in 1994.

“All of these events affected Navy families or our Navy community in some way, so I saw a new calling and decided, after retiring, to try to stay in this field,” he says.

That is why he completed his B.S. in Disaster and Emergency Management, as he had 10 years after retirement to use his G.I. Bill. “I was fairly close to finishing my degree, so I thought I would go for it,” he says.

Earning a Higher Degree

That drive has gotten him to American Military University, where he is pursuing his MPA with a concentration in Disaster and Emergency Management. At the time, he was working for a city in southern California as an emergency services director. He found the MPA program and decided to move to Missouri to be closer to his son and his son's family.

Lawrence enjoys online learning and says it fits in well with his schedule. After work, he goes home to spend time with his family. After the children go to bed, he spends a few hours a night completing homework assignments.

“I don't interfere with family time, and everyone is happy,” he says. Usually once or twice during a course, he has to take a mid-term or final, which he completes early on a Saturday or late at night: “A win-win for everyone.”

Flexibility, Quality Key to Educational Draw

As for the classes at American Military University, he is equally as pleased. Courses taught by Professor Reynolds, (EM-504, EM-505 and EM-516) have been the best so far.

“He's a great instructor and very personable and easy to deal with—great guy. He always gave very positive feedback on papers and even weekly homework assignments. He is from this profession and his comments and feedback show he's a true professional.”

One thing that drew him to AMU's program was the school's flexibility. Now working in public health as a Bioterrorism Emergency Response Planner for the city of Joplin, Missouri, he has had to be out of town or on the road, frequently covering six counties and 225,000 square miles.

“AMU understands this and has accommodated my schedule any time I need them to do so—they are great,” he adds.

In total, the degree, including books, will cost about $10,000, and the G.I. Bill paid for about two-thirds of the program. Another third was covered by a grant from the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home.

Consequently, one of his AMU instructors left his entire estate to the orphanage as an educational trust fund to help former pupils and their dependents receive money to pursue an education. Each time Lawrence gets the paperwork ready to start another class, he applies for a grant from the Rooney Fund; he has never been turned down.

With Chad in the Marine Corps and Julie in college, he and his wife decided to do foster care. They soon welcomed Karina and Robert into their family. In 2002, the family moved to Joplin to be close to Chad (now 34), his wife, and their grandson. Julie (now 32), is also now married and has three children of her own. Karina is 12 ½ and Robert is 10 ½.

Lawrence plans to use his degree to serve city government as a manager or work within another disaster and emergency management outlet.

“Both areas I really enjoy and would like to pursuit further. I don't plan on ever retiring, so working until I can't work anymore is my plan.”