Beyond the cognitive tools, the courses lead to the development of skills—linguistic, communicative, or those promoting critical thinking and problem-solving—that can be applied everywhere. The professors deeply love their work, are close to the students, and several experiment with newer teaching and evaluation methods. Mutual respect, individual and collective effort to achieve common goals, “getting back up immediately when you fall,” as well as the importance of giving a second chance and rewarding effort, are some of the values I keep from them. Perhaps the greatest gift the Department gave me was the friends I made—with whom, even now, we think of our student years as something we experienced just yesterday!
