Leis ’07 Holds Strong Commitment to Service

Eric Leis ’07 grew up surrounded by people dedicated to serving others. In fact, you can trace the military service of his family all the way back to the Revolutionary War. During his time at the Prep, motivated by those serving around him and the state of global affairs at the time, Leis found his own calling to serve. “It was around my sophomore year at the Prep that I decided that I wanted to be in the Navy,” he recalls. “I felt like it was my turn to do my part.”

After his time at the Prep, Leis studied mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame and was a member of the Navy ROTC. After graduation, Leis was commissioned as a surface warfare officer and served on the USS Chung-Hoon out of Pearl Harbor as a gunnery officer for two years. During this time, he was deployed once to the Western Pacific. Leis then attended the Navy’s Nuclear Power School in Charleston, South Carolina, where he studied how to operate nuclear reactors. He spent the next two and half years on the USS George H.W. Bush in Norfolk, Va., as the reactor electrical officer and was deployed to the Persian Gulf. Before separating from active duty, Leis served as military training department head at Navy boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois. 

Along with his strong family role models, Leis credits the Prep with fostering a desire to be of service. “The Prep instills a motivation to serve others,” he says. “It’s right there: ‘men for and with others.’ It’s about finding how you’re going to serve others, and there’s a lot of different ways to do that.” Leis acknowledges that he was in a unique position in finding his way of serving, because he had inspiration and guidance from those in his family with military experience. “I had a lot of examples to look to, especially from those actively serving when I was in high school,” he recalls. 

Most young people don’t have that same type of mentorship so readily available, especially in cities like Philadelphia, which do not have as large of a military presence as others. Leis hopes to help fill that void. “I want to find those people who have a desire to serve in the military but don't have that direct example or mentor to talk to validate their desires or confirm they’re on the right path and give them confidence to pursue it. These were all things I had growing up in a military tradition,” Leis reflects. 

While serving as a Navy reservist, Leis returned to Notre Dame for law school and earned his degree this past May. Today, he works as a law clerk for Judge David Porter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Pittsburgh. In his work, Leis strives to bring the same values — self-sacrifice, putting others before oneself, and teamwork — that were ingrained in his military service to the civilian world. “Part of the reason I became a lawyer is because it helps advance and improve this country on the homefront,” he explains. “I want to bring these skills to figure out how we can coalesce a group of people who come from all different backgrounds, belief systems, and parts of the country and get that team to focus on a singular objective.”

Leis will be returning to the Prep later this month to speak to the TMF Hawks about his experiences, along with his insights on leadership and service.