Spanish native Manuel Vicente ‘22 on journey to provide mental healthcare
Q: Can you tell the audience about your background?
A: Originally from Seville, Spain, I first attained a Bachelor of Science in Management and an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University and went on a 20+ year career in consulting, government and healthcare operations. My hospital projects took me to 11 countries in four continents, where I built hospitals and clinics. Places as different as Spain, Mexico, Peru, Nigeria or the Middle East made me realize how much need there is in the world for healthcare services and, specifically, for mental health care.
‘It feels like I finally came across to the other end of that
desert highway where I started three years before.’
Q: What is your major?
A: Mental health counseling.
Q: What interested you in your major?
A: I was always inclined to mentor and advocate for many of my own staff in different countries. I found that counseling and mentoring them was the most enriching and satisfying part of my professional life.
Q: What attracted you to Lamar University?
A: The opportunity to pursue a master’s in mental health counseling online. An accredited program at a reasonable price that I started while working in Abu Dhabi, continued in Dallas, then upstate New York and finally just completed while living in Lubbock, Texas.
Q: Can you tell me about your first day at LU?
A: Believe it or not, I have never set foot on campus. As I mentioned above, I applied and started the program while living in the Middle East. I remember driving back from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, crossing the desert highway as the sand was drifting under a scorching 130 F. I had passed the GRE just an hour before so my project to become a licensed professional counselor was real and on its way. COVID-19 precluded my visit for residency to campus, so being an online program, I never had to come to campus. When I started, I knew it would be a long, hard effort, as I have been working full time in positions of responsibility all this while. But I was very excited, knowing that I was starting a new journey.
‘Places as different as Spain, Mexico, Peru, Nigeria or
the Middle East made me realize how much need there is in the world for healthcare services and, specifically, for mental health care.’
Q: What are some of the organizations you’ve been involved in?
A: With Arthur Andersen Consulting I was a change management consultant in the 1990s. Then I worked for the Government of Spain, running cultural and educational programs in the Canary Islands. While in Tenerife, Canary Islands, I was offered my first position as a hospital CEO. I had similar positions building and managing hospitals and clinics in Mexico, Peru, Antigua and Barbuda, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Nigeria, Dubai, Kenya and Jamaica. After I started the master’s program at Lamar University, I started working on social services as administrator for residential programs for refugee children.
Q: What has been your proudest or favorite moment during your time at LU?
A: My proudest moments were being accepted and the very last webinar of my last internship when I had completed all requirements for graduation.
Q: What have been your biggest challenges?
A: Full-time work while striving to keep a 4.0 GPA has been hard and sometimes seemed impossible.
Q: How do you think it will feel to graduate?
A: I feel so relieved that I made it through this long effort. It feels like I finally came across to the other end of that desert highway where I started three years before.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: I will get my LPC associate license and start working as a functional family therapist and logging my supervised hours. I will continue studying all my life, attaining additional mental therapy certifications and eventually plan to live in Europe and counsel my clients in the U.S. online.
Q: How do you think your degree will expand your professional opportunities?
A: I will immediately start work as an associate licensed professional counselor. In one and a half years, I will have attained my full license and will open my own private practice.
Q: How will Lamar University contribute to your future success?
A: Thanks to Lamar University, I could afford a high-quality education and training while still supporting my children, working full-time.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: Thank you to all my professors and classmates.