Student Ambassador: Yohana Beraki

Welcome prospective William James students!

My name is Yohana Beraki and I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program here at William James. I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended Purdue University for my undergraduate degree where I studied Psychology and Business Management. I decided to escape the Midwest and move to the East Coast to pursue a master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Counseling at Boston University and have stayed here ever since!

I chose William James for many reasons and one of them was the faculty. The faculty in this program are some of the most kind, considerate, supportive, encouraging, and knowledgeable people I have ever met. They are mentors, colleagues, cheerleaders, teachers, advocates and are in large part why William James College shined amongst the rest when I was selecting graduate programs. What also stood out was the ample amount of opportunities to get involved, get active and grow as a leader. At William James, I am involved in the Clinical Supervision research lab, the mentorship program in the bachelor’s program, the first-generation student group, the work study program, and I am an advanced standing student. I am also a Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health (CMGMH) fellow which allows me to connect to even more training and volunteer opportunities outside of William James.

My post-grad goals include becoming a licensed psychologist and serving children and families using evidence-based treatments. I am also interested in opening my own private practice, becoming a clinical supervisor (one day training director), teaching, and developing evidence-based programs in underserved communities.

The process of selecting and applying to graduate programs can be a rollercoaster and my best advice is to talk to folks. Talk to students who are currently in the programs you are considering (feel free to reach out!), connect with people who have the job that you want and learn how they got there, talk with psychologists and/or faculty to get a sense of whether this path feels right for you – just talk it out. And once you begin this journey, keep talking it out. It is so important to ask for support, build a network of peers and mentors, and seek opportunities to expand your knowledge and understanding in graduate school and beyond.

Please feel free to reach out if you want to chat about the program or have any questions. I am more than happy to geek out about the wild ride that is graduate school and share my experience if it feels relevant for you. Sending you the best of luck on this journey!