Phillip Kopanuk was the best reader in his class when he was in Grade Five in Hooper Bay, AK. He was so good that his pastor involved him in reading scriptures during worship services. But during the next three years, he experienced repeated family violence and repeated suicides among his extended family members. He became very angry and exhibited extreme behaviors.
After completing high school in 2007, Phillip joined the Marine Corps. He became addicted to alcohol and drugs, and he was given a medical discharge. During his first 23 years of life, he was in jail 16 times, 3 of those times since January 2011.
Phillip’s life changed forever on November 21, 2012, after he received a call from his sister, Minnie, who had been drinking heavily. He responded to the phone call by going to pick up his sibling. Shortly afterward, she passed out, her hands and lips turned purple, and clear liquid began to drain from her mouth. He called 911, and she was rushed to the hospital, but she passed away. “(It) made me realize that not everyone gets a chance to wake up and ask God to forgive them. My sister didn’t,” he said. Phillip believes God used the sudden loss of a loved one to reach out to him and to save him from succumbing to the same fate. “I found a Bible at the hospital and read Isaiah 49, about serving two masters. I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior that night and asked him to take away my desire to drink and do drugs, and as I asked him, I could feel the desire to do both leave me,” he said. “God used my sister’s death to reach out to me and pull me back to him.” He has been sober since then.
He returned to ACC for the third time in January, 2013. Only ACC would accept him into a post-secondary education program. Only ACC would support him in his journey of learning and of recovery. Phillip’s ACC instructors report that he is an excellent student. He has good recall of whatever he has read, and he connects his learning with thoughtful reflections. For example, in his Developmental Psychology class, he volunteered the insight that the Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, was influenced by communist ideas and philosophies of Josef Stalin. During Spring, 2013, Phillip achieved a 3.75 GPA, made the Dean’s List, and was named one of two ACC Students of the Year.
Phillip plans to return to ACC in Fall, 2014. He has received a scholarship from United Utilities, Inc./ United KUC, Inc. to support his higher education.