Juan Manuel Leon Parra
Hometown: Chillan, Chile
Graduate Program: M.A. in Mental Health Counseling
Undergraduate Institution: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Undergraduate Major: Philosophy, Theology, and Education

1.) What attracted you to the Lynch School?
In my country, the Lynch School and Boston College are well known due to the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test. Personally, before coming here I was working as a teacher at a high school with a Jesuit tradition where I got in touch with the same values of social service and justice that shape the mission of this School. I studied my undergrad at the Catholic University in Chile, where I started to search and apply to foreign schools that could combine a certain prestige and a particular research focus in my field of study. Finally, once that I was accepted to the Lynch School I was able to apply and obtain a Chilean government scholarship to fund most of my expenses here. Some of the criteria used to award this scholarship were the program’s quality and the institution’s worldwide prestige.

2.) How would you describe your experience at Lynch?
What I find most interesting is the high level of intellectual interaction and interchange between my peers and professors. Thus, most of the classes are an interesting and fulfilling experience. Professors are accessible and they encourage you to work hard. I find that the entire institution works to facilitate my academic achievement: student services, libraries, gym, etc. This is what I mean by a “community” of people that offers so many resources available, from access to the best quality databases to a warm conversation with the custodian.

3.) How do you hope to apply your degree after graduation?
I am passionate about the opportunity to research complexities such as poverty, and how it has been mobilized to violate human rights and marginalize a large number of people from access to counseling and health care, limiting the healthy psychosocial development and well being of many adolescents and their families. Thus, I am expecting to prepare myself for a return to Latin America where I hope to continue my work in poor community settings and the academic field at the same time.

4.) What advice you would give to prospective students planning to apply?
Specifically for international applicants I recommend a very basic advice that was really helpful during my entire application process: to establish direct communication with the staff of the Admissions Office throughout all the process. I had many doubts regarding specific procedures, legal document translations, financial aid, etc. and they were always committed to make things clearer and give plenty of advice. As an applicant, sometimes you exacerbate the amount of information you want to send in your package and the Admissions Office staff also helped me to disregard information that was not necessary.

5.) How did you go about seeking funding at the Lynch School?
I found great support at the Center for Human Rights and International Justice (CHRIJ) at Boston College. I applied for financial aid at the Lynch School and they offered me a position as a graduate assistant at the CHRIJ. Basically, this means that I have the opportunity to fund part of my studies and participate in the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project with Dr. Brinton Lykes and her team working in collaboration with local immigrant right organizations and performing participatory action research.