Lukas Walker
I didn’t want a degree just to check a box. I wanted something that matched how I think and how I operate.
Building Depth Under Pressure
How Navy Diver Lukas Walker Navigates Service, Scholarship, and Norwich University Online While Deployed Overseas.
Lukas Lee Walker has never followed a straight line. His path has curved across countries, careers, and oceans, shaped by equal parts discipline, curiosity, and an enduring willingness to step into uncertainty.
Born in Åkersberga, Sweden, to an American father and Swedish mother, Walker spent his earliest years immersed in a dual-national household before moving to the United States at age five. His family relocated to his great-grandparents' farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where Walker grew up surrounded by farmland, woods, and water. That environment, paired with a demanding home education, laid an unexpected foundation for the life he would later build in uniform and in the classroom.
“I had my primary education in the American school system,” Walker recalled. “But each day when I got home, my mom effectively homeschooled my brother and me. She didn’t think the school system taught us enough about the world.”
As a child, he chafed at the extra structure. He wanted to be outside, exploring the family’s160 acres, fishing in the spring-fed pond, or riding in a farmer’s combine during harvest season. In hindsight, he sees that combination of formal education and experiential learning as formative to his development.
“It gave me a wide education,” he said. “Not just academically, but in understanding effort, responsibility, and how things actually work.”
That balance deepened through Scouting. Walker followed his father and brother into Boy Scouts, eventually earning Eagle Scout. His Eagle project involved building shelving units for a shared community theater resource space in downtown Easton, an early lesson in practical leadership and service.
Between those experiences and the influence of a multilingual household, adaptability became second nature. Walker arrived in kindergarten understanding English but unable to speak it fluently, a challenge he met through literature. His family owned a myriad of books, including a full set of the World Book Encyclopedia, which he read cover to cover more than once.
“I learned English through books,” he said. “That’s probably where my love of reading came from.”
Searching for Direction Before Finding Structure
After high school, Walker returned to Sweden to take advantage of free higher education available to citizens. He initially pursued a path toward becoming a Spanish translator, navigating the complexities of demonstrating language proficiency in both Swedish and Spanish, as well as meeting program requirements. When financial support fell through, he returned to the United States and entered a period marked by ambition but uncertainty.
He worked in a series of physically demanding and service-oriented jobs, including phlebotomy, arborist work, painting, and restaurant kitchens. He excelled at many of them, but the instability and limited upward mobility weighed on him.
“I always wanted to help people,” Walker said. “That’s why I wanted to be a paramedic. But I also needed structure. I needed stability.”
In 2016, at age 24, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. The decision was not driven by a lifelong plan to serve, but by recognition that the military offered something he lacked at the time: a reliable framework within which to grow.
“I joined for reasons that weren’t perfect,” he admitted. “But it worked out.”
From Aspirations to the Depths
Walker initially pursued a path toward Naval Special Warfare, drawn by the opportunity to serve in a medical capacity within elite units. When his career redirected him into the Navy’s diving community, the transition demanded a different kind of resilience. It was not glamorous, but it proved to be deeply formative, one he now describes as one of the best decisions of his life.
“Navy diving isn’t glamorous,” he said. “Most of my diving has been in water with incredibly poor visibility, where the water is black, the mud is black, and you can’t see anything. It’s cold, dark, and scary.”
Over the years, Walker has served at multiple commands, including ship maintenance facilities, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams, and EOD mobile units. His work has included ship’s husbandry, underwater repair, anti-terrorism force protection, underwater salvage, and undersea warfare operations. Today, as a supervisory diver deployed in the Middle East, he oversees complex evolutions that require absolute trust and precision.
“It’s a small community,” he explained. “Small mistakes can derail an entire operation. You have to know your people and know where to put them.”
Leadership, in that environment, is less about rank and more about balance.
Walker describes his current team as a deliberate mix of personalities. One leader is calm and stoic, another detail-oriented, and Walker himself plays the role of direct advocate, willing to address problems head-on.
“It works because we trust each other,” he said. “Everyone brings something different.”
Finding Norwich at the Right Moment
As Walker matured professionally, he began to reconsider his long-term goals. The death of his mother in 2020 prompted a period of reflection, followed by renewed clarity. He wanted to pursue education not as a credential, but as a tool.
“I didn’t want a degree just to check a box,” he said. “I wanted something that matched how I think and how I operate.”
He first encountered Norwich University through outreach to the diving and special operations communities, where the Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis is well known. What stood out immediately was Norwich’s approach to recognizing military experience.
“Norwich evaluated my Joint Services Transcript and awarded me 72 credits immediately,” Walker said. “No other school came close to that.”
By combining those credits with additional coursework completed through partner programs, Walker entered Norwich with nearly 90 credits. He began his studies while deployed overseas, taking on a demanding course load with a clear goal: finish quickly and prove his capability under pressure.
Walker planned to complete his degree in under a year while rotating through multiple countries and time zones, fully aware of the discipline and consistency it would require.
Earning a Degree While Deployed
Completing a rigorous academic program while in the Middle East came with challenges, but Walker credits Norwich’s faculty and staff with making it possible.
“The time difference actually worked in my favor,” he said. “I’m nine hours ahead. Most assignments are due Saturdays, and I usually have Fridays and Saturdays off unless I’m on duty.”
The greater challenge was operational unpredictability. Early in his deployment, Walker spent time in Lebanon, where power outages occur multiple times daily due to economic instability. He communicated proactively with his instructors, requesting early access to materials and transparency about periods of limited connectivity.
“They were incredibly understanding,” he said. “They worked with me, not against me.”
One field study course, taught by Professor David Witty, became a defining academic experience. Walker wrote extensively about Lebanon’s infrastructure crisis, applying course concepts directly to real-world conditions he was witnessing firsthand.
“That class was one of the most educational experiences I’ve had,” he said.
Beyond flexibility, Walker found the coursework demanding, exceeding expectations. Early classes required weekly research-based discussion posts, multiple citations, and consistent analytical writing.
“It felt like a bare-knuckle grudge match,” he said. “It was not a check-the-box experience.”
A Scholar’s Mindset in Uniform
As Walker progressed through the program, his academic confidence grew. He found himself applying concepts from Norwich coursework to geopolitical discussions with teammates, even predicting shifts in regional dynamics based on national security strategy documents he studied.
That academic momentum led to an unexpected opportunity. In late 2025, Walker applied for the Truman Scholarship after receiving an email from Norwich’s SSDA leadership encouraging students to consider the opportunity. With faculty support, he submitted an application that led to his selection as 1 of 4 Norwich University nominees who will compete nationally for the honor of becoming finalists for the scholarship.
Walker envisions pursuing multiple graduate degrees in strategic studies, defense policy, and diplomacy, with the long-term aim of serving in national-level policy or intelligence roles.
“I like having a broad skill set,” he said. “A Rolodex of capabilities.”
At 33, age limits present challenges for certain commissioning paths, but Walker views his accelerated academic performance as part of making the case for future opportunities.
“If age is the only thing holding you back, sometimes there’s a waiver,” he said. “You just have to prove you can perform.”
Why Norwich Works for Service Members
Today, Walker actively encourages junior divers and fellow service members to consider Norwich University Online. He understands the skepticism many feel toward higher education after years of operational tempo.
“Take the plunge,” he advises. “Start with one class, commit to seeing it through, and the momentum will build.”
For Walker, Norwich offered recognition for prior service, academic rigor that matched his mindset, and faculty willing to meet students where they are, even when that place is overseas on deployment.
“The military gives you stability,” he said. “Norwich showed me how to build on that stability instead of demanding I choose one over the other.”
As he approaches graduation, Walker remains focused on what comes next. Whether his future leads to aviation, emergency response, intelligence, or continued service as a diver, one thing is certain: the foundation he built at Norwich was forged under pressure, at depth, and with purpose.
