Class Note 2007
Issue
July-August 2023
For this round of Class Notes, I thought I would profile Audrey Knutson, whom I met through the class Instagram account. Audrey has explored a unique, compelling life at the intersection of national service, advancing social justice, and seeking personal fulfillment, so I asked them to be featured here, and I’m excited to share some of their story.
Audrey writes, “After 10 years as a ski bum, I decided to go to law school, but jobs in patent law froze during Covid. I was inspired to explore service in the Navy by a book by Nathaniel Fick ’00, One Bullet Away, about joining the Marine Corps, and by my grandfather, who had served on a carrier in World War II. With encouragement from my wife, I applied and was accepted to be a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).
“I am a lieutenant stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and am on rotations for my first two years and will soon rotate to legal assistance for six months, where I will assist sailors with all their civil legal issues—divorce, contracts, landlord-tenant, and estate planning. Then I will spend a year in courts martial as a prosecutor of criminal misdemeanor and felonies.
“I just got back from a months-long deployment with the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier and the largest warship in the world. We went on a joint-NATO and European-partner deployment to patrol and keep safe areas of the North Atlantic and European waters. I worked as the carrier strike group deputy JAG and my portfolio was mostly national security and operations law international law, ethics, rules of engagement, and laws of armed conflict. In total I was handling cases for the entire strike group, around 9,000 people.
“One of the best parts of my work in the Navy has been helping younger transgender and non-binary sailors navigate their own identities. When I was thinking about joining the services, I was intimidated by the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. My wife encouraged me to stick with the application, and I have taken advantage of opportunities to educate and mentor other sailors about my experience. On Veterans Day I saw a flyer for a LGBTQ suicide prevention spoken-word night put on by the gay and lesbian and supporting sailors organization. My grandfather was a gay man in the Navy and had a very difficult service. I am also a suicide survivor myself, so it was especially meaningful. I wrote a poem and performed it in front of the main ship leadership and 50 other people. It was important for me to share my part of the journey that some of them are just starting on. Afterwards, I had many people come up to me asking how to navigate gender themselves or how to be supportive of others.”
Thank you, Audrey, both for your service to our country and for sharing your story in this space. It is an awesome reminder of the ways that our classmates are leading around the world and of how inspiring, courageous, and creative our Dartmouth community is.
For photos of Audrey’s experience in the Navy and with some Dartmouth friends, check out their profile on the “Dartmouth2007” Instagram account.
—Sam Routhier, 543 W 122nd St., Apt. 25B, New York, NY 10027; samrouthier@gmail.com
Audrey writes, “After 10 years as a ski bum, I decided to go to law school, but jobs in patent law froze during Covid. I was inspired to explore service in the Navy by a book by Nathaniel Fick ’00, One Bullet Away, about joining the Marine Corps, and by my grandfather, who had served on a carrier in World War II. With encouragement from my wife, I applied and was accepted to be a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).
“I am a lieutenant stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and am on rotations for my first two years and will soon rotate to legal assistance for six months, where I will assist sailors with all their civil legal issues—divorce, contracts, landlord-tenant, and estate planning. Then I will spend a year in courts martial as a prosecutor of criminal misdemeanor and felonies.
“I just got back from a months-long deployment with the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier and the largest warship in the world. We went on a joint-NATO and European-partner deployment to patrol and keep safe areas of the North Atlantic and European waters. I worked as the carrier strike group deputy JAG and my portfolio was mostly national security and operations law international law, ethics, rules of engagement, and laws of armed conflict. In total I was handling cases for the entire strike group, around 9,000 people.
“One of the best parts of my work in the Navy has been helping younger transgender and non-binary sailors navigate their own identities. When I was thinking about joining the services, I was intimidated by the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. My wife encouraged me to stick with the application, and I have taken advantage of opportunities to educate and mentor other sailors about my experience. On Veterans Day I saw a flyer for a LGBTQ suicide prevention spoken-word night put on by the gay and lesbian and supporting sailors organization. My grandfather was a gay man in the Navy and had a very difficult service. I am also a suicide survivor myself, so it was especially meaningful. I wrote a poem and performed it in front of the main ship leadership and 50 other people. It was important for me to share my part of the journey that some of them are just starting on. Afterwards, I had many people come up to me asking how to navigate gender themselves or how to be supportive of others.”
Thank you, Audrey, both for your service to our country and for sharing your story in this space. It is an awesome reminder of the ways that our classmates are leading around the world and of how inspiring, courageous, and creative our Dartmouth community is.
For photos of Audrey’s experience in the Navy and with some Dartmouth friends, check out their profile on the “Dartmouth2007” Instagram account.
—Sam Routhier, 543 W 122nd St., Apt. 25B, New York, NY 10027; samrouthier@gmail.com