Chris Keppler

At first glance, Chris Keppler is your typical 19-year-old guy. He loves playing sports like roller hockey and soccer.

But beneath the surface, Chris is much more than meets the eye. Chris was offered a full-ride scholarship to play soccer at Missouri State University after he graduated from Christian Brothers College (CBC) in 2009, but he turned it down to stay close to home.

“At the time, Missouri State University didn’t seem like the right choice for me,” Chris said. “Plus, my two older brothers went to SCC so I felt more comfortable coming here.”

At CBC, Chris did it all. He played soccer, hockey and ran cross-country; however, when Chris decided to attend SCC, the only sport he tried out for was roller hockey. He wanted to focus more on his schoolwork so he decided not to try out for the soccer team.

“I had a great time with SCC’s roller hockey team – it was everything I thought it would be,” Chris said. “My favorite memory would have to be beating Michigan State in the quarterfinals at nationals.”

Chris has plans of dual-enrolling at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and at St. Louis University (SLU). At UMSL, Chris hopes to play soccer and get his bachelor’s degree in business. At SLU, Chris plans on playing roller hockey and getting his medical assistant’s degree.

He will walk two paths as far as he can, Chris said, until he is forced to choose which option is better for him.

“My dad owns a heating and cooling construction company,” he said. “So I always have that option as a back up, which is why I’m working on my business degree.”

On the other hand, Chris has always been interested in the medical field and has thought about attending medical school at SLU after getting his two bachelor’s degrees.

“To me, nothing ever goes as planned,” Chris said. “I want to explore all of my options and reevaluate what I want to do later on – when the time is right.”

Updated: Feb. 18, 2015.