Matt Morris brings a wealth of experience and social skills to state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter's office.
The 45-year-old chief of staff lives in Rolla and commutes to the Capitol to serve in the Jefferson City senator's office. He used to live in the Capital City before moving a couple years ago. Before that, Morris lived in Kansas City and worked as an assistant prosecutor for the better part of a decade.
But his days with the law go back further.
The Alton, Missouri, native lived in Columbia and commuted to Jefferson City to work in the Capitol while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri, throughout law school and some time after.
As a senior at Missouri, Morris said he was short on graduation credits and signed up to become a legislative intern for credit. For the 2004 session, he interned for state Rep. Mike Dethrow, a Republican representing Morris' hometown in southern Missouri.
In February of that year, Morris recalled, one of the Senate doorkeepers died. The husband of Dethrow's legislative assistant, who was also a Senate doorkeeper, suggested Morris, still a senior in college, apply for the temporary gig.
"They basically just needed somebody to keep the seat warm," he said. "And I went over and interviewed with the administrator of the Senate, and I was a doorkeeper in the Senate that session, too."
Morris said he usually started his mornings working in the representative's office before rushing to be a doorkeeper in the Senate, and then going back to the House to finish the day.
"It was interesting. It was an interesting time," he remembered.
Morris continued working in the House in 2005, transitioned to law school and then interned with a senator's office while still in law school. He worked for the governor's office directly after law school.
"Then I left, and I was never coming back, like I was done with politics," Morris said. "But I did."
"I ended up coming back and working for Mike, and I was glad I did," he continued. "Mike's the best boss you could ever hope for."
Morris joined Bernskoetter's office in 2019 as the Jefferson City Republican moved up from the House to the Senate. Morris has worked for him since.
Morris said he knew one of Bernskoetter's sons through work, but only "sort of" knew the state senator. He was still practicing law in Kansas City when he was recruited back to the Capitol.
"I did not know him very well until I went to work in the office, but I knew his family, and they're good people," Morris said.
Comparing his experiences from over a decade ago to now, Morris said what sticks out to him is the difference in atmosphere. When he was entering politics, the last class of senators who hadn't had term limits were getting termed out, taking with them a wealth of political and legislative knowledge.
"You had all this institutional knowledge and people that knew how things worked, knew more of the intricate mechanisms of the government, and all of that went out the door," he said.
Now, Morris said there's not as much time to gain that knowledge, hold other lawmakers accountable and work on quality legislation together.
"The culture of the building has changed dramatically," he said.
Community members, lobbyists, other lawmakers and their staff are regularly hanging out in Bernskoetter's office with Morris and legislative assistant Penny Mueller. Some days, there's food involved.
"It's fun," Morris said of the amount of people that visit the office year-round. "It's not always fun, there are times when people are there because they're upset. But it's neat to have people come and go a lot more often than I think you get in a lot of the offices, especially during the interim."
Bernskoetter's office is one of a few legislator offices to be open nearly every day of the year, leading to more visits from Missourians outside his district. Morris said people visiting during the interim are often just drawn to the open door.
"We end up taking them on a tour, showing them around or taking them to the whispering gallery," he said. "But it is really nice to have a lot of interaction with people. It's pleasant, it's nice to have that."
Morris said he didn't anticipate working in the public sector for as long as he has but he enjoys it more than his time in the private sector. He said it's more rewarding to be doing something he believes is making communities and the state better.
It isn't always easy, like the time he spent 36 consecutive hours in the Capitol, but he enjoys it. Being a prosecutor was harder, he said, because "it kind of hurts your soul, quite frankly."
"It's not nearly as soul-crushing to work in the Senate," Morris said.