2022 Tillman Scholar

Marklin Nixon

Marine Corps
University of Oregon
Juris Doctor

“Armed with a law degree, I will be better equipped to help young men and women who have taken missteps on their path to a better future—just like I did.”

In 2012, Marklin left his small hometown to enlist in the Marine Corps shortly after high school. Marklin joined under an open contract to expedite the processing timeline and was selected to be a paralegal. Over the past decade, he served in law offices across the United States and Japan and has been the lead paralegal on multiple felony trials. 

Trusted for his legal acumen, Marklin was selected to advocate as the Marine Corps representative at employment termination hearings on cases ranging from gun trafficking, drug abuse, domestic violence, and military specific offenses involving Marine Corps recruiters across the Western Recruiting Region. Seeing how his actions in the legal system could affect people for the better irrevocably changed Marklin’s perspective on his future aspirations. He began taking evening college courses to one day be a voice litigating for positive change like the attorneys he worked alongside. 

After a decade of service, Marklin is the first one in his family to obtain a bachelor’s degree and he is looking to earn a law degree so he can have a better platform to assist disadvantaged and troubled youth as a juvenile public defender. Marklin plans to use his experience as a mentor in the service and his own time in the juvenile court process to be a voice of compassion for children underrepresented in an overwhelmed judicial system.