Congratulations to Maria Luisa Parra-Velasco on this incredible award.
Maria Luisa Parra-Velasco
Spanish Senior Preceptor; Department of Romance Languages and Literature
Harvard University
“The way I think about teaching when I get into the classroom is that the learning will be a two-way process.” Maria Luisa Parra earned her undergraduate degree from School of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) which, along with her Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics, led her to Tufts University where she focused on helping Latino families and especially children to connect effectively to the public school system. Now a Spanish senior preceptor at Harvard, she attributes her successful teaching methodologies to her interests and willingness to connect with learners and desire to empower them. About her students, she says, “I believe in their capacities and what they already know, and when each one of them brings this into the classroom, we build knowledge together.