Courtesy of GSU Communications
A jump-start to her college career led to senior Criminal Justice major Janiah Tims’ remarkably fast finish in reaching her undergraduate degree at Grambling State University in two and a half years. Her 3.94 GPA also garnered the title of valedictorian and highest ranking graduate for the Fall 2025 graduating class.
Tims and her classmates will receive their degrees during commencement exercises to be held at 10 a.m. Friday inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
A graduate of Louisiana’s Bastrop High School, Tims brought 21 hours earned through a dual enrollment program with her to Grambling State, and she admits that the early start to her college experience helped her as she continued her studies at GSU.
“I was really doing the same kind of work in the dual enrollment courses that I ended up doing in college,” Tims said. “So there really wasn’t a big difference.
“My dual enrollment classes were pretty hard. I was only taking one (non-dual enrollment) class at Bastrop. That was a math class.”
Tims said she took primarily basic required college courses as part of her dual enrollment studies, including English 101 and 102, History 101 and 102, Music Appreciation and Psychology 102.
“This semester I really took on a full load because I got an override that allowed me to take 21 hours,” Tims said. “I had usually been taking 18 hours.
“I probably study five to six hours a day, and I was also working a part-time job (at Walmart), too. And I just started working fulltime at Walmart, but I was working part-time most of the time I was taking classes.”
“It was close to home, and I have an uncle who’s a Grambling fan, so coming here was like a win-win (situation) for me,” Tims said. “The environment felt right. When I went on a tour of GSU, everyone welcomed me with open arms. It was that friendly feeling that made me want to go to college here. There wasn’t any kind of stuck-up attitude or anything like that.”
Tims admitted that attending ULM never was a consideration for her despite her having earned college credits there.
“I did think about going to LSU, but I decided I didn’t want to go too far away,” Tims said.
Dr. Tazinski Lee, head of GSU’s Criminal Justice Department, said Tims’ commitment to her studies is a driving force behind her academic success.
“As grades were coming in our faculty and staff were waiting anxiously to see if one of our students would receive highest honors,” Dr. Lee said. “Once the announcement was made, we were all overcome with joy. Janiah Tims has set the bar high, giving those who come behind her the confidence that they can do likewise. She exhibits the values of confidence, character, and competence. Ms. Tims has not only excelled academically but she has shown remarkable leadership qualities.
“She is always willing to assist with and participate in departmental workshops and conferences. Ms. Tims’ ability to think critically has allowed her to engage in scholarly dialogue, discussion, and debates both in and outside of the classroom with fellow students, and practitioners in the field. We are expecting to see great things from Ms. Tims; she has a commitment to excellence and will not settle for anything less.”
Dr. Lee also said that dual enrollment courses have helped many of the students in her department get off to strong starts at Grambling State University.
“Our department sets high expectations for our students and convinces them that they are capable of meeting them,” Dr. Lee said. “In other words, we believe in meeting students where they are and guiding them until they reach where they need to be.
“Dual enrollment has assisted us in doing this because students, such as Ms. Tims, come to us already acclimated to college life with the expectation that it takes rigorous course work to produce quality. So, Dual Enrollment has been a plus.”
A member of the Alpha Psi Sigma Criminal Justice National Honor Society and the Earl Lester Cole Honors College, Tims said Substance Abuse was probably the course she learned the most from and that a math class she took was probably the one she most enjoyed.
“That’s because that class was in-person and it just felt better learning that way,” Tims said. “It was more fun that way.”
Tims said paying attention to life around her growing up was the driving force in her decision to major in Criminal Justice.
“In my neighborhood and all, I just used to always see people go to jail,” Tims said. “It made me want to learn about the justice system and how I could change it in a positive way. I watched a lot of TV shows like Law & Order and learned a lot from them. They made me want to be a lawyer.”
And that’s where Tims sees her future.
“I plan on going to law school either at Southern or at LSU,” Tims said. “I’m not sure which one, but I do know that’s what I hope to do. After I do that, I want to become a family attorney.”
