Get to Know the Leaders Driving Career Success at Steppingstone

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Meet Claire Joy Moss, Director of Career Success, and Monét Eugene ’10, Corporate Relations Manager—the dynamic duo spearheading the Career Success program at Steppingstone.

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Steppingstone is expanding its Career Success programming to empower Scholars with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the job market and align their career paths with their values, interests, and goals. There is a high need for this, as Claire explained:

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“There are so many studies about first-generation and low-income college graduates who are working in lower-paying jobs and not accessing the same opportunities as their higher-income peers. I don't want Scholars to fall into that statistic anymore.”

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With years of experience in workforce development and career programming and advising, Claire is driven by mission-focused service: “I have a passion for helping folks from under-resourced communities gain the same opportunities as their peers. I think a lot of that comes from my background and upbringing as a biracial woman, living at the intersection of Black and White culture. I sometimes felt lost and would have thrived from the guidance that Steppingstone provides. That’s why Steppingstone is so important to me.”

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Monét, an Alumna of the Steppingstone Class of 2010, also holds a strong passion for the organization, saying, “Steppingstone was definitely created for kids like me, and I’m very happy I went through the program.” After earning her M.B.A. and working for the Midas Collaborative and the City of Boston, she is happy to make her return to Steppingstone as a staff member. “I’m thrilled to be part of Steppingstone’s continuing evolution.”

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Expanding Opportunities for Scholars

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First launched in July of 2024, the Career Success program offers Scholars a vast array of opportunities based on four pillars: career exploration, career skills-building, career immersion, and social capital. What sets Steppingstone’s Career Success program apart is how it expands across every age level from fifth grade through college graduation. Claire leads the Career Success curriculum development with a goal to provide Scholars with a safe and supportive environment to explore their career aspirations and develop key skills to help them thrive. 

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For younger Scholars, most of the curriculum is focused on career exploration and learning about all the different paths they could take. Career panels and field trips to different offices, like the Lego Corporation headquarters this fall, help Scholars connect things they love to potential careers. Career Success programming for high school and college Scholars includes workshops on foundational career skills such as resume writing, building a LinkedIn profile, developing their elevator pitch, and more. Rising college sophomore and junior Scholars may also engage in our cornerstone mentorship program, Scholars Thriving Through Relationships, Internships, and Valuable Experiences (STRIVE).

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STRIVE is a full-year program in which Scholars are matched one-on-one with a near-peer professional mentor within 10 years of college graduation. The STRIVE program year kicked off in early August, and Claire reflected on the success of the orientation: “It was great to see how dedicated Scholars and mentors are to their own career success and to the program. They all brought the energy of, ‘Yes, let’s get this done!’”

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Strong Partnerships, Strong Programming

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Corporate partnerships are critical in opening doors for Scholars through hosting career shadow days and panels and creating internships in various industries. Monét works closely with partners “to give Scholars an opportunity to explore different industries—to get to know what they're interested in, what they're not interested in, and also to gain tangible career experience.”

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Recently, Steppingstone partner THL hosted a career panel and resume review night and Monét shared how special this opportunity is: “Nothing beats resume guidance from someone who's working in a specific industry, who has background on what their own resume looks like, and can compare it to the Scholar’s resume to give them good feedback.”

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Steppingstone partner Bain & Company created another impactful experience—an office visit day for Scholars. Steppingstone Board member and Bain & Company Executive Vice President Jennifer Fulton described the field of consulting and interviewed two associates about their early career experiences before taking Scholars on a tour of the office.

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“The office tours are so important, because Scholars can visualize themselves sitting in the boardroom. They can see that it’s possible,” Monét said.

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A Bright Future Ahead

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Ultimately, through Steppingstone’s comprehensive, identity-affirming Career Success programming, Claire’s vision is to see “Scholars graduating college ready to start successful careers—however that is defined by the Scholar—and to earn a livable wage.”

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At Steppingstone, planning for a successful career begins early—as early as middle school for Scholars—and it begins now for all of us making this work possible.

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Interested in getting involved? 

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Corporations interested in partnerships are encouraged to contact Monét Eugene at meugene@steppingstone.org. 

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Individuals who wish to empower Career Success programming with a gift can donate online or discuss opportunities with Kate Wood at kwood@steppingstone.org.

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Scholars with questions (and those with general program inquiries) can reach out to Claire Joy Moss at cmoss@steppingstone.org. 

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Take it from Monét herself:

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“Scholars can feel free to reach out to us at any point in time. If they are feeling unsure about anything, if they have questions—Steppingstone has such a huge community of people that want to support Scholars, that there’s somebody within the Steppingstone network who can help.”

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