Love, science and general education

UNAM is undoubtedly our maximum studies house; The social transformers who built what our country is today have passed through the classroom: businessmen, politicians, members of civil society, educators, scientists, etc. It also represents the aspirations of many young people from the past, the present and certainly the future, as in my case, a 52-year-old Mexican—his father was a government employee, musician, and poet—dreaming of studying in their classrooms. My history with unam began at the age of seven: my father took me to his office, in Doctor Lavista, the Doctores neighborhood of cdmx, and after leaving there, at 3 in the afternoon, he took me to Ciudad Universitaria. During the trip he told me how beautiful college life was and told me wonderful stories full of great love for the institution. On his arrival, he showed me the main places, according to his opinion, among them the beautiful Central Library, and said to me: “In a short time, you will study here,” his words were prophetic.

From that moment – my second year of primary school – all my energies were focused on achieving this goal. In 1985, I took an entrance exam and was accepted into the College of Sciences and Humanities on campus in 1986. Thus, I discovered a new discipline of studies: a few classes, all participatory, lots of reading and a constant search for shaping critical thinking. There I met many classmates, played guitar and sang – if you can say those loud songs were songs – I took formal and informal courses, and the teacher I still admire, Armando Blanco Patiño, showed me economics for the first time. Before knowing this discipline, I wanted to become a physicist, because of my enduring admiration for Albert Einstein, but what I spoke to with Professor Armando opened to me an insatiable curiosity about economics and its power. Before I finish the cch program, I attend the College of Science and the College of Economics for a week, to take two classes and make a decision. I do not have to say that the Faculty of Economics won.

Therefore, I entered the Faculty of Economics and often met many of my colleagues from high school in the corridors, among them, Alejando Olvera, my companion and companion in a thousand battles. Over time I met Norma Angelica Gallardo, Veronica Orozco, Maximiliano Gracia and many other dear friends, whom I did not mention simply because naming them required so many pages. In my college classes I met love, lovers, friends and rivals, all of which are an important part of my training, not only professional, but also human. I will take a phrase from my friend Alejando: “How can we not love unam, if dear friends give us, wonderful love – marry Veronica – education, love of knowledge and even feed us”; And that’s right, because often we had cookies and coffee from the teachers’ room.

On the other hand, my teachers were all professionals: Gaston Sosa guided us in selecting teachers with his classic question: “What do you want: learn or succeed?” ; Rogelio Huerta Quintanilla, with whom I was attached, taught me to love theory and that it is meaningless if it is not connected with reality; It was Virginia Poe who helped me overcome my limitations and from whom I learned that being an economist is not enough to know economics; José Vargas granted us asylum in his cabin – the center of our operations – and, moreover, it was one of the greatest lectures on life; And how can we forget my dear Fernando Noriega Urreña, who was not only my teacher, mentor and mentor, but also taught me a love of economic theory and formalism in analysis, and who always took an interest in my training, and not only professionally. Again, I must cease to mention the names of my professors, many of whom are, and fellows in symposia on Mathematical Economics and Econometrics, and still remember the others with great affection and affection.

I must say that college life is not easy, it is full of challenges, misfortunes, disappointments, frustrations, etc. Many things happen in your college life and the more years you spend in the classroom, the more the stories multiply; I, since I am a “creature in unam”, can tell you that it is. But none of those bad moments compare to the satisfaction we get by saying “I am a boma” or the joy and accomplishments Onam allows you to achieve.

When I finished my degree, I joined INEGI and worked there for about seven years; Then I went to study for masters in udlap and then PhD in coltlax, both with scholarships. I studied in public and private universities, as you can see dear reader, but I am happy to say: “I am a former student of the university and we are good students because the university trained us well.” I have a great responsibility regarding the progress of economic sciences. Today I am a research professor in the Department of Economics at the Autonomous State University of Quintana Roo. I dedicate myself to researching topics such as income distribution, growth and development, law and economics, and social capital, among others. Because of my classroom training at our Maximum House of Studies, I have a social obligation, and I fight for a more just and better Mexico; This is what real college kids are. I’m no better or worse than anyone else, I’m black and blue-blooded, I’m from CU, and I’m just another mexican who studied at unam; It is essential to realize that it would be impossible for this great university to exist without UNAM.

Research Professor in the Department of Administrative Economics at the University of Quintana Roo