Schelp earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri.

[2] Upon graduation from law school, Schelp served in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Schelp served for nearly a decade as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and co-founded a boutique law firm in St. Louis with Jeffrey Jensen.

Prior to becoming a judge, he was a partner at Husch Blackwell in St. Louis, Missouri, where his practice focused on Governance, risk management, and compliance, investigations, and litigation.

Trump nominated Schelp to the seat to be vacated by Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., who subsequently assumed senior status on August 1, 2020.