January 14, 2024
From his new hometown of Mobile, AL, PRCC alum Justin Kopf is doing what he can to make the southern section of Alabama safer as an Assistant United States Attorney. His story of dedication and achievement began at 91福利.
A Kiln native, Kopf was a Wildcat legacy when he stepped onto the Poplarville Campus in the fall of 2005. His father, former Superintendent of Education for the Hancock County School District David Kopf, and older sisters, Heather Kopf Cuevas and Kimberly Kopf King, had proceeded him. His father served on the PRCC Board of Trustees for several years, including when Justin attended school.
Obtaining a Strong Foundation at PRCC
While he lived on campus as a member of the golf team on scholarship, his first semester was not the typical college experience as Hurricane Katrina raged through Poplarville leaving destruction in her wake. With considerable damage done by tornadoes, the campus was closed for a while.聽聽
Once the dust settled, Kopf joined his fellow students as they returned to their studies, extracurricular activities, and athletic events. He was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, traveled around Mississippi for competitions as a member of the golf team, joined the science club, played intramural sports, and was named to Who鈥檚 Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges.
鈥淧RCC was special because it was close to home, the faculty and staff were kind and supportive, and the classes were small,鈥� said Kopf. 鈥淭he classmates and teammates I met at PRCC were wonderful, many of whom remain lifelong friends.
鈥淎s a whole, the faculty and staff cared about you being successful and achieving your goals. The smaller class sizes and engaging professors also made difficult subjects less intimidating than they would have been at a major university with hundreds of students in a class. At PRCC, I never felt like I was simply a number or a name in a classroom.鈥�
Kopf stuck to a general studies program with the goal of attending the University of Mississippi for a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration. Upon graduation from PRCC, he transferred all his credit hours and was awarded a scholarship as a Gamma of Mississippi Phi Theta Alumni Chapter. He continued at Ole Miss in law school, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 2013.
Nurtured by Role Models
Kopf remembers all of the faculty and staff he interacted with on the Poplarville Campus as being very helpful. The faculty who impacted him for the better included Vice President for Planning and Institutional Research/Dean of Honors Institute (Poplarville) Dr. Jennifer Seal, then a mathematics instructor, and Instructor of History Dr. Stephen Black.聽
“Justin Kopf has been positively impacting others since enrolling at 91福利 to build on the solid academic foundation he formed at Hancock High School,鈥� said Seal. 鈥淎s a community college student, Justin consistently demonstrated dedication and integrity instilled by his parents who served their community as educators.
鈥淣ow, as an accomplished attorney, he continues to display these qualities, making significant contributions to the legal field. I am so proud of his tremendous accomplishments as a man of strong character and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney鈥�
Even before he arrived on campus, Kopf found role models to shape his academic career. Current PRCC Instructor of Biology James Royston was his biology teacher at Hancock High School. Kopf credits Royston鈥檚 challenging class as helping prepare him for college-level classes.
鈥淛ustin was a great student and was one of the students who kept me in teaching that first difficult year,鈥� said Royston.
From Law School to Assistant United States Attorney
Immediately after law school, Kopf worked as an Associate Attorney for the law firm of Owen, Galloway, and Myers in Gulfport, Mississippi, for about a year and a half. He then spent about two and a half years as a law clerk for Judge Ceola James of the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Next, he worked as a law clerk for about three years for Justice Josiah Coleman of the Mississippi Supreme Court.聽
Then, he made the leap to Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney鈥檚 Office for the Southern District of Alabama. In this role, he prosecutes a variety of criminal cases, including , firearms offenses, , and crimes involving . Occasionally, he is tasked with civil cases where the United States has been named in a lawsuit.
Kopf loves his job, finding it an honor and privilege to represent the United States in court.
鈥淏eing a federal prosecutor is one of the few jobs where your job can be boiled down to simply the phrase, 鈥榙o the right thing鈥�,鈥� said Kopf. 鈥淒oing the right thing could mean prosecuting criminals and holding them accountable for breaking the law, working on behalf of crime victims so that justice can be done for them, or even declining to pursue criminal charges because the evidence does not support a prosecution. It is a truly fulfilling job, and I鈥檓 grateful for it.鈥�
Kopf is thankful for the education path he chose and that PRCC was the start of his college career.
鈥淚 was able to grow and mature as a college student at PRCC,鈥� said Kopf. 鈥淚 learned about forming good study habits, which translated well and provided a strong foundation for more advanced courses during my junior and senior years. Since I am very close to my family, it was a huge benefit to be close to home and be able to return home most weekends.鈥�
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Article by Laura O’Neill. Photographs supplied by Justin Kopf.
