• Name: Robert Loper

• Age: 31

• Job Title/Department: Conservation Officer Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

• Years as a conservation officer? 8 years.

• Why did you choose to become a conservation officer? Honestly, I had thoughts of becoming a conservation officer as a foot-in-the-door type opportunity, a starting point to move forward into other law enforcement careers. But that all changed when I fell in love with the job and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

• Do you have any family members in the field? Yes, my brother-in-law is actually a conservation officer in Newton County.

• What has been your most gratifying experience as a conservation officer? Working with the Wounded Warrior hunts in Clarke County. It’s a small repayment for men and women that gave so much for our state and country.

• Would you encourage one of your children to pursue a career as a conservation officer? If they felt they were being led in that direction. I would definitely support them and try to give them as much knowledge as I could about the job.

• What would you have done if you had not become a conservation officer? I would have enlisted in the military. It’s something I have always wanted. Eventually, I was able to enlist in Air National Guard here in Meridian. So now I have the best of both worlds.

• When not working, what are your interests? I enjoy just being with family, pretty much anything in the outdoors and working on small building projects for my wife.

• Tell us something about you people would be surprised to learn? I am extremely OCD. I like to count things, even numbers are my thing. I have to do everything in an even number fashion. Whether it’s eating M&Ms or putting things in a certain place, I always have a system.