JACKSON DOCTOR RECEIVES SEMO'S YOUNG ALUMNI MERIT AWARD

A Jackson resident was recently one of five graduates of Southeast Missouri State University to receive its Young Alumni Merit Award.

Dr. Connie Simmons, a pediatric physician with Physician Associates of Cape Girardeau, was selected as the College of Science and Technology's recipient of the prestigious award.

"I was extremely happy to even be nominated," Simmons said. "I am very pleased to have graduated from Southeast Missouri State University. I think I got an excellent education there."

Simmons, a 1987 graduate with a major in interdisciplinary studies, graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in 1991. She received her associate's degree from Mineral Area College in 1984.

She performed her internship and residency at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis in pediatrics, where she received the Ambulatory Pediatrics Award. Part of her residency also was spent at St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis.

Simmons is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics at Southeast Missouri Hospital, the Department of Pediatrics and the Committee for Infectious Disease at St. Francis Medical Center, and Delta Memorial Hospital in Sikeston.

Simmons was a softball standout at Southeast, where she became Southeast's first GTE Academic All-American Athlete and the first recipient to win this honor for two consecutive years. Simmons continues to support Southeast's womens athletic programs by serving as their team physician and consultant for the athletic training staff.

"One of my interests is in sports medicine," she said. "I enjoy seeing the students and becoming involved with the teams. I wanted to give something back to the university, and this is my way of doing it."

Simmons says she enjoys her work as a pediatrician, in which she sees a wide age range of patients -- infants through college graduates. "I love my work and really enjoy working with my partners (in the Physician Associates group). We are very supportive of each other."

Simmons is board certified in pediatrics and a fellow member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is a member of the Interim Forum of Sports Medicine, the American Medical Association and the Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society. She has been a guest speaker for organizations such as Parents as Teachers and the Girl Scouts.

Simmons says she attributes part of her professional success to her Southeast mentors -- softball coach and assistant athletic director Lana Richmond and Dr. John Hinni, dean of the School of University Studies, who served as Simmons' pre-med adviser.