Douglas Moore II, who made headlines last spring as a 19-year-old JSU graduate, says he’s still aiming for a law enforcement career, but will pursue it in Texas.
“I decided to go to the Dallas Police Department,” the Jackson native said this week, rather than pursue a graduate degree. He is now awaiting admission to the Dallas Police Academy.
Moore excited attention last spring when he graduated from JSU and found that “I’m not old enough to work in law enforcement yet,” he said, since most agencies require applicants to be at least 21.
Moore entered the university at the age of 16 as a member of JSU’s Summer Bridge Program, an interdisciplinary program designed to give incoming JSU freshmen a transitional experience from high school to college.
Students with an ACT score of 17 or above are eligible for the 10-week program that provides academic course work in college algebra, biology, trigonometry, and chemistry.
Through applying himself, Moore graduated after only three years — itself a not-so-common occurrence.
Moore, still living in Jackson at present, plans to eventually get more schooling. “I plan to go to school out there,” he said, perhaps after his first year on the job. The University of Texas at Dallas offers a masters degree in justice administration, he said.
His ultimate goal is to work in a federal law enforcement agency.
“I want to do law enforcement because I consider myself a leader,” he said. “I also like to help people.”