As a prosecutor assigned to one of the County Courts at Law in Travis County, John Lopez's latest challenge is participating in a new system intended to ease a jail-overcrowding problem. The county is trying to implement a temporary jail case system to move non-violent cases through more quickly. "With this on top of the 63 jury cases we have set for next week, it has been crazy," he says.

Lopez's court handles Class A and B misdemeanors. The most common cases are DWI, assault and theft. Much of his time is spent evaluating cases and working with defense attorneys to reach plea agreements. He also handles pretrial hearings, trials before the court and jury trials.

"I enjoy the opportunity to interact with lots of different people including defense attorneys, judges, witnesses, jurors, and of course, other prosecutors. I have fun doing court hearings and trials. I enjoy having to argue my case and respond to the defense. With each trial, I learn more and more."

Despite the demands on his time, Lopez still manages to give back to Southwestern and the organization he credits for leading him there, the National Hispanic Institute (NHI). As a member of Southwestern's alumni board, he has served on several committees, including the Dixon Scholarship Selection Committee in conjunction with the Texas Methodist Foundation.

"I give time to SU because I have a strong connection to the University and the people who make it a special place. I had such a wonderful experience as a student, and so I feel honored to have the opportunity to help out where I can."

His relationship with NHI--and Southwestern--began in 1983, when as a high school sophomore he attended the Lorenzo de Zavala program. He recalls that NHI president and founder Ernesto Nieto '64 "pretty much told me I was going to Southwestern. I am very pleased that SU has maintained its strong commitment to the LDZ program and the students it serves."

In fact, Lopez now sits on NHI's board of directors and has an internship program there named for him. Each year, John F. Lopez Fellows work as interns at NHI's headquarters in Maxwell, Texas, and as staff members at their summer programs. "It is perhaps the most meaningful honor or accolade I have received."

Lopez grew up in La Porte, a small town east of Houston seated right on Galveston Bay. But his family's roots are in the Rio Grande Valley. His mother's family has been in Texas since the 1770s. His father was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and raised in Pharr. He has four sisters, the youngest of whom, Olivia (now Sister M. John Paola of the Good Shepherd, Carmel DCJ), graduated from Southwestern in 1998.

He says his fondest memories of his alma mater include "sledding on the golf course in the middle of the night, hunting for ghosts in the FAB, and skateboarding down the hall in Ruter. I spent a lot of time at the Pike house, and on occasion visited the library."

He also met his spouse Molly McKee Lopez '91 in an English class at Southwestern. They married shortly after she graduated. Before going to law school at the University of Texas at Austin, he spent several years working for the Princeton Review. He started the College Station office out of his garage and taught classes for the SAT, PSAT, GRE, GMAT and LSAT.

After earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Texas A&M, Molly now holds a joint appointment with the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) and the University of Texas College of Pharmacy. She is involved in research testing a disease management system to improve psychiatric care of children with mental illnesses. She also is the administrator for MHMR's Institutional Review Board, which reviews research proposals to ensure subjects are treated ethically.

The couple has two children, eight-year-old Hayley and three-year-old Emma, with number three due in February.