Patrick McCullouch, MSW ’13, Serves as Program Coordinator of STL Youth Jobs

The desire to even the playing field in urban education was what drove Patrick McCulloch to the Brown School.

“After my City Year service, I was working in Cleveland,” Patrick said. “I saw the barriers facing the students beyond the classroom: poverty, dangerous neighborhoods, and kids were already behind from the start. I saw that poverty leads to barriers to education.”

As a student at the Brown School, Patrick had practicum experiences that left a lasting impact on his professional development. Patrick worked at the Community Education Center in Bevo Long Middle School, an urban school with a high immigrant population. Patrick also gained significant macro urban education experience at Brittany Woods Middle School, developing programming for youth and monitoring its impacts on educational outcomes.

Following graduation, Patrick was hired by the Wyman Center to facilitate the Teen Outreach Program (TOP), a nationally replicated, evidence-based program that empowers teens to lead successful lives.

Patrick now serves as the coordinator for the STL Youth Jobs program for MERS/Missouri Goodwill. The program connects youth in low-income neighborhoods throughout St. Louis with job training and work opportunities.

“This is an important approach to reducing poverty and transforming youth outcomes, by providing opportunities to youth in areas with high youth unemployment,” he said. “My passion is to build strong programs on a large scale.”