M:STL Staff Highlight - Maurice
Maurice grew up in North City in the Mark Twain neighborhood. From a young age, Maurice knew math and analytics fascinated him and for a while he imagined building a future around these interests. However, Maurice was heavily influenced by his surrounding environment where surviving and blending in often meant participating in crime. He was eventually incarcerated in 2009. Looking back, he admits he knew better but was hesitant to step away from what felt familiar.
From the moment he was incarcerated, Maurice knew he wanted to change the trajectory of where his life was headed. He viewed his time in prison as a moment to reflect, learn and reset. Maurice used his time incarcerated to enrich his learning through reading and studying.
In 2019, Maurice was referred to our previous workforce development program, Job and Leadership Training (JLT). This program provided coaching and resources to help participants achieve employment, wellness and self-sufficiency. After difficult experiences with past programs, Maurice initially had reservations about joining JLT. However, knowing that Jason Watson, our senior vice president of engagement and his childhood friend of more than 20 years, was leading JLT he had the motivation to give it a try. With the knowledge of their shared experiences, Maurice trusted the program.
During classes, Maurice was always an attentive learner. The lessons he learned from attending classes taught him not only job readiness skills, but what accountability looked like while planning for the future.
“I learned a great deal about responsibility and patience,” Maurice said. “In my former lifestyle, immediate gratification is what we were used to. We learned to understand that when you’re doing things the right way, there's a process that should be embraced.”
After completing the JLT program, Maurice landed his first job post-incarceration. After witnessing his passion and commitment to his community, Maurice was recruited as a success coach in 2022. Now, Maurice works as the workforce development manager with Beyond Jobs. He oversees budgeting and back-end operations while making sure participants receive the support they need to be employed and succeed. In his role, Maurice uses his lived experience to guide others navigating the same struggles he once faced, understanding firsthand the challenges of breaking free from familiar patterns and lifestyles.
"I’ve been in their shoes and in a lot of ways, I still am," he says. "There’s some piece of my story that every participant who walks through our doors can connect to."
One of the biggest barriers he sees for people trying to turn their lives around is believing in themselves. "When people have been beaten down to a certain point, they start to lose that sense of self," Maurice said. "So definitely, number one is believing in themselves.” He also explains how many participants struggle with being open-minded to trust the program and its process. Many people who enroll in Beyond Jobs have had interpersonal challenges that make it difficult to believe in their potential as well as the program.
For Maurice, his motivation comes from the people in his community, his city and those who walk through the doors of Mission: St. Louis every day.
"It’s humbling to serve my community in the way that I do now because for so long, I was a liability to it. But today, I can make a real impact and that means everything.”