Date: January 31, 2006
Contact: Lindsay Gladstone
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: l-gladstone@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, Janurary 31, 2006 - Governors State University announced today that Jamal A. Simington of Kankakee is the student speaker at the Winter Commencement Ceremony for the graduates of 2005 on February 18 at the Center for Performing Arts on the GSU campus in University Park.
Simington epitomizes the hard work, dedication, and determination of Governors State graduates. On graduation day, he will receive a Bachelors of Arts degree in Criminal Justice with High Honors having earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.
For the past nine years, Simington has been a special agent for the Illinois State Police Department. Prior to that, he was an officer in the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department.
Simington grew up in Hopkins Park and graduated from both St. Anne Community High School and Kankakee Community College.
Community service has long been an aspiration of Simington’s. Even as a young man, he wished to served the community. By his 18th birthday, he was a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a member of the volunteer Fire Department serving Pembrook County.
“Public service has always been my greatest interest and my most rewarding goal. Law Enforcement gives me the opportunity to give back to the community,” says Simington. “My job with the State Police offers different challenges on a daily basis, but it is always about what I can do to help others.”
Simington plans to pursue further opportunities to serve the public within the Illinois State Police Department. He also plans to continue his education and broaden his qualifications and skills by studying for a Masters Degree in Public Administration.
Simington enjoys the support of his family, his wife, Ida, two children and mother, Bertha Bradley. His uncle, who served with Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department and as a volunteer firefighter, was Simington’s inspiration and served as an example of the worth of public service.
