The City of St. Petersburg joins dozens of cities and counties across the country in doing away with the criminal history section of its job applications.

The move is part of a nationwide campaign known as “Ban the Box.”

“It gets us closer to our vision of truly being a city of opportunity,” said Mayor Rick Kriseman.

Realtor Lashanna Tyson stood by Kriseman’s side as he made the announcement on the steps of city hall Tuesday.

Tyson herself served 13 years in prison for armed robbery.  Released in 2011, she said she was determined to turn her life around and get a job.  

"I knew that if someone would sit down with me at the table, they would see me for me and what a valuable asset I could be for the company,” Tyson said. “Because I'm hard working."

But for every job Tyson applied for, she said she never got a call back. Tyson said the criminal history box on the application scared off would be employers.

"I made a mistake. And I paid that price. I paid my debt to society,” Tyson said. “So why is the state of Florida continuing to punish me?"

Tyson eventually earned her real estate license and has been successfully selling homes for the past two years. She said St. Petersburg’s decision to ban the box will help others rehabilitated by the state prison system do the same.

"Prison taught me to be hard working and resilient,” Tyson said. “It also taught me that I am somebody."