Keegan Young has been systems impacted most of his life, so he knows what marginalization feels like. He was incarcerated for 12 years, and the transition back hasn’t been an easy one. Still, thanks to a little help from his community, he’s now in a much better place.
After being released, Keegan connected with a local re-entry network, which suggested he reach out to the Energy Warriors program. So, in the summer of 2022, he joined Energy Warriors as a recruit. He was eager to jump into green energy work, so he joined Energy Warriors’ Cozy Basements program, in which he went to various residents’ houses to insulate their basement rim joists.
Keegan did such good work at Cozy Basements and enjoyed the work so much that he reached back out to Energy Warriors after his graduation to see if there were any opportunities for him. That’s when he learned Energy Warriors was looking for a new educator, and he jumped at the chance.
Now, Keegan teaches the same classes that helped give him a new leg up on life. When recruiting for his classes, he seeks out people who’ve had barriers to education or decent jobs, just like he has. He sees education as crucial to his journey since being released, and he wants to give everyone the same opportunity to better themselves and their lives through environmental education. And, the more people in the clean energy workforce, the closer the state gets to achieving its climate goals — which is also very important to Keegan.
“ I was without a home and without a job at one point. And people reached out and helped me. … I want to give people more agency, to empower people through education, through job skills, and let them see that there’s a way out of some of the historically marginalized positions that society has put a lot of us in.”
When not working, Keegan can typically be found writing fiction and poetry, performing in open mics, or spending time in the local music scene. If you’re interested in joining Energy Warriors, contact Keegan at key26@cornell.edu.