The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the recent graduation of Sergeant Karen Serzynski and Sergeant Phillip Zinkowich from Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) Class #448.  

The ten-week School of Police Staff and Command began September 24, 2018, and was held in Evanston, Illinois at Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety. Since the program's inception in 1983, Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety has graduated tens-of-thousands of students both nationally and internationally.  The School of Police Staff and Command provides college-level instruction in a total of twenty-seven core blocks of instruction during each session.  The major study topics include leadership, human resources, employee relations, organizational behavior, applied statistics, planning and policy development, budgeting and resource allocation.

Sergeants Serzynski and Zinkowich along with their class colleagues, raised over $10,000 as a legacy gift for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Additionally, members of SPSC Class #448 raised $1,700.00 for the Chicago Police Officer Samuel Jimenez Memorial Foundation.

In addition to the SPSC graduation, Lieutenant Sara Balmes was presented with Public Safety Executive Leadership Award for successfully completing Northwestern University’s School of Police Personnel, School of Police Staff and Command, and the Executive Management Program.

Sheriff John Idleburg said, “Congratulations to Sergeant Karen Serzynski and Sergeant Phillip Zinkowich on their hard-earned success.  They’ve spent the last ten weeks being challenged on an academic level and their dedication to enhancing their leadership and management skills will undoubtedly help us build stronger relationships with the community we serve.”