His love of baseball is how he arrived at Harris-Stowe, where he plays outfielder for the Harris-Stowe Hornets. The head baseball coach at Harris-Stowe recruited him for college ball and found him a club team for his first summer in Missouri. Not only did he have extremely supportive foster parents in Albuquerque, but a family in St. Louis opened their home to him his first summer in Missouri. Of his life, Maurice says, “First, I was unlucky. Then I got very, very lucky when my foster parents and my host family came into my life.” You can hear the love and gratitude when he talks about these families.
Maurice dreams of playing or coaching professional level baseball after college. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) extended collegiate athletes’ eligibility by one year due to Covid-19 delays. For Maurice, this means he could play another year after completing his bachelor’s degree and start grad school. He is currently on track to become an Academic All-American after being named Academic All-Conference the past two years.
Maurice volunteers for fundraising events and other activities at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and serves as head coach for a youth league baseball team. Amazingly, he has found time to volunteer, coach, practice and play baseball, study, and attain a 4.0 GPA last semester. He loves coaching younger players and says it gives him the opportunity to encourage the players and see everything that is happening on the field. He uses this broader perspective in his own playing because it is easy to focus solely on your role during a game and lose track of the bigger picture on the field.
When you talk with Maurice, you have a strong sense of a young man focused on succeeding personally and professionally, one who will continue to demonstrate compassion and caring as he makes the lives of others richer because of his presence.
We feel privileged to share Maurice La Fon’s scholarship story with you, and we thank you for your support of the New Mexico Friends of Foster Children scholarship program.
