Dr. Carmen's Corner

Dear student, You made it to the last week. We’re almost done with this odd semester we’ve been imposed by an unprecedented situation, and you have done amazing. You quickly adjusted to our new reality, dealt with so much stress and anxiety, and still kept going. I personally could not have asked for more from you, and the patience, flexibility, and resilience you have shown these past few weeks have been inspiring. As much as I’ve been looking forward to the end of the semester (not a usual feeling for me), now that we’re about to hit it I’m getting sad thinking about not seeing you again, at least for a while. I have always been quite open with you, but even more during the weeks of remote teaching. I always have the hope that sharing with you how I feel will make you feel comfortable if you ever have the need of doing the same, and many of you have. I thank you for that, for trusting me, sharing emotions that I’m sure are not always easy to convey.  For me, the end of t

Like many others, I think I always wanted to teach because I had great teachers. I'm not talking about people that would just teach things well, but men and women who went beyond the material that they had to cover and would teach you through their own behavior and attitudes. A good teacher truly helps shaping us and our lives. I, for instance, would have never come to the US if it had not been for the encouragement and support of my professor/mentor/friend in Sevilla, Mª Luisa Venegas. What started in 2006 as a 1-year plan developed into something quite different that literally changed my life.  As a professor, I consider it a privilege when students give us access to their personal lives by sharing with us experiences, fears, good news, plans... To me, it is one of the best and more meaningful parts of my job and somehow shows me that my students see me as more than just some woman giving them information that gets tested a few times per semester. But it can be hard too, par