Seaside Middle School

Maurice Thomas

Family Services Specialist

Hello to all,

My name is Maurice Thomas and I'm a Family Services Specialist at Seaside Middle School. My journey started many years ago. Growing up in a single parent home where my Mom did her best, but eventually realized it can be very hard to raise a boy into a young man. My father whom I admire moved to Chicago to enroll at Depaul University where he majored in psychology. Soon after at the age of 13 I was sent to Chicago to live with my Dad. This 7 year experience would mold me into the person I am today. 

After graduating high school I soon left Chicago to return home to Pasadena California. With my father's teachings, lectures and morals instilled in me I would soon start my journey to try and make a difference in life. I went to college where I majored in Criminal Justice and maintained a 3.5 GPA. Although college was very hard for me and many times I felt like giving up that voice in my head (father's voice) would always ring loud in my ear telling me to "never give up". So I continued my journey and graduated from college receiving my bachelor’s degree in 2007.

Something changed in me soon after graduating. I Realized that I wanted to be that voice in a kid's ear, telling him or her to "never give up in life, no matter how hard times get". I began to shape my career by applying for jobs with "At-Risk Youth". I've worked as an youth counselor for kids in a residential setting, group homes for juveniles and the list goes on. 

Fast forward to the present, my role as a Family Services Specialist for MPUSD has been great!. I've been working in the district for 6 years now and I couldn’t have picked a better place to hang my hat than here at Seaside Middle School, where I get a chance everyday to help change a kid's perspective on life for the good. Although there’s many day's of let downs and heartbreaks, the chance to reach at least 1 student is priceless. I truly believe I'm here for a reason and look forward to more years of helping to make a difference for the future.

Thank you!

Mr. Thomas

Hello! My name is Andrea Diaz and I am a School Social Worker at MPUSD specifically working with middle school McKinney Vento and foster students at the three middle school sites, including Los Arboles Middle School, Seaside Middle School and Walter Colton Middle School. I was was raised in the small near-by town of Castroville, CA by two immigrant parents who moved to this country from Mexico in order to give my siblings and I the best opportunities possible to succeed. Helping others has been a passion of mine from a young age, which is why I decided to pursue a career in Social Work. After high school, I decided to go to CSU Fresno where I graduated with a bachelor’s in Social Work and a minor in Spanish. Shortly after, I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW), but I decided to move back home to continue pursing my MSW at CSU Monterey Bay because I always knew that I wanted to support people in my local communities. I am now extremely grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to support local middle school homeless and foster students/families in our community as it is a huge passion of mine!