By MAYA PAGE
Staff Writer
Bill Maurice is more than a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC). He’s also one of the many backbones that holds this campus community together.
In his four and a half years working as a psychological counselor at S-CAPS (Student Counseling and Psychological Services) and as an adjunct professor at FDU, he has had many meaningful experiences and learned a lot about himself, students and his profession.
While Maurice was a doctoral student, he completed two years of externship-fellowship at Rutgers University, which is where he discovered his passion for working with students in a university setting.
“I believe that college-age students are experiencing an amazing time of growth and challenge in their lives,” Maurice said. “That willingness to try out recommendations and explore new ideas and options is priceless.”
Prior to working at FDU, Maurice worked as a substance abuse counselor at New Bridge Medical Center and served individuals who were working through substance abuse, addiction and co-occurring mental illness and chemical addiction.
Even though he enjoyed this line of work, he continued to be drawn to the college scene and knew his skills would be applied greatly in that environment.
Maurice feels privileged that his job allows him to be a part of students’ journeys into adulthood.
“I enjoy their resilience, creativity and receptivity,” Maurice said. “By their nature, students are genuine problem solvers and seem to be searching for answers to the tough questions in life.”
The art of psychotherapy is Maurice’s passion and fits right in with not only his professional life, but personal life as well. Maurice is constantly searching for ways to not only better serve students, but to improve himself, and sees life as a never-ending opportunity to learn.
Self-education books, videos, podcasts and lectures are some of Maurice’s favorite past-times. He also enjoys philosophical discussions about people and life, hiking, traveling and spending time with friends and family. Maurice enjoys being busy and keeping things moving at all times, so when he is not working he is always motivated by the desire to learn and teach. His interests and personal passions go hand in hand with his career and allow him to feel rewarded and fulfilled in his work.
Being a counselor at S-CAPS requires being a master of multi-tasking. A typical day for Maurice involves back-to-back sessions with students, and with the small breaks in- between, he keeps notes and practices personal self-care.
Along with his other colleagues, Maurice trains student leaders, does outreach programming such as personal development workshops, mental health and wellness events, and alcohol and drug awareness programming. He also attends campus events like informational tables and fairs.
“We wear many hats here,” Maurice said.
Being a college student is tough, to say the least. Most of the time it is easier to pretend everything is okay, even when it isn’t. It can be hard to ask for help, but that is why S-CAPS is here. S-CAPS has five full-time staff members who put in tremendous effort every day to serve the community and help students. The services provided on-campus are free to all students, part-time and full-time.
A piece of advice Maurice likes to tell students is, “Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is moving forward in spite of that fear.” He highlighted the fact that it is okay to be nervous about seeing a counselor and those feelings are perfectly natural.
“Contrary to what students may have heard growing up, asking for help is a sign of maturity,” Maurice said. “The most successful people in the world will often say that asking for help is/was the big key to their success in life.”
