As part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of our Faculty of Civil Engineering, we couldn't help but highlight the life and work of the first and, so far, the only female dean of this faculty. We are referring to Margarita Polanco, who, apart from excelling in the academic sphere, had an impressive sports career. She was the first woman from Cauca to join the national basketball team at the age of 15 and was recognized multiple times as the best athlete at the national level, leaving behind an invaluable legacy.

In order to share this touching story, we reached out to Margarita's colleague, her husband, Mr. Manuel José Hurtado. Unfortunately, the protagonist of this moving account passed away in 2017 due to health complications. We deeply appreciate Mr. Manuel for opening his heart to us and giving us the opportunity to remember and honor Engineer Margarita in this space. Although we understand that her family is still in the process of mourning, we have no doubt that, even though Engineer Margarita is no longer physically with us, her legacy in the academic and sports realms will be a guiding light for posterity. Therefore, as part of the commemoration of the 150 years of the Faculty of Civil Engineering that we have been celebrating throughout 2023, we pay a heartfelt tribute to this remarkable engineer, acknowledging beforehand that, although this account might fall short in describing the great human being Margarita was, we hope to reflect a significant part of her legacy as an engineer and athlete.

Margarita was born in the city of Popayán. The beloved Margarita, daughter of Efraín Polanco Ospina, a Senator of the Republic, and Lila Flórez de Polanco, of Spanish origin, had dual nationality. She studied at Colegio San José de Tarbes, where her interesting sports career began to take shape, as her innate talent quickly made her stand out among the crowds. "My wife started playing basketball from a very young age, always at Las Josefinas School. She began to excel in the Cauca children's selection, then in the youth selection, and finally in the University's selection. During her time in the Cauca youth selection, she started her international career, known today as the Colombian National Team. Later, she had the opportunity to play in national championships, representing the state of New Mexico in the United States. The Governorship of Cauca honored her, as she was named the best player in Colombia on various occasions at both national and university levels. She was also a coach at Colegio Las Josefinas for a long time, an institution that she loved and where she was loved, as in addition to her role as a coach, she conducted English teaching practices. Margarita completed High School in the United States and excelled not only as the best athlete but also as the best student. In her high school diploma from Colegio Las Josefinas, she was recognized as the best student. In the field of engineering, she also stood out as a brilliant student, which led to her being offered a position as a teacher immediately after graduating," expressed Mr. Manuel with great emotion, recalling the beginnings of his wife Margarita's sports career, with whom he not only shared a great love but also experienced the most important triumphs of their lives. Both were united by their passion for basketball, as they met when they were very young while practicing this discipline: she played on the youth team, and he on the senior team.

One of the sports anecdotes about Engineer Margarita that Mr. Manuel remembers vividly occurred during the celebration of an interfaculty competition. "The coliseum was packed; the classics were between Civil Engineering and Medicine. On one occasion, the game was intense, and Medicine was winning. In just a minute, she scored about 10 points on her own, giving the young Civil Engineering team the victory. The Medicine students were taunting the Civil Engineering students with 'Go lay bricks,' and the Civil Engineering students called the Medicine students 'Quacks.' Nowadays, sports encounters are not experienced in the same way," Manuel recounted nostalgically.

In the realm of sports and without sidelining her academic pursuits, Margarita graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Cauca in 1979 and began her career as a university professor in the Geotechnical area. Later on, her passion for teaching led her to instruct in postgraduate programs and veer toward research. However, due to her proficiency in English and international experience, she was appointed as the Head of the Office of International and Interinstitutional Relations at the University of Cauca between 1995 and 1997. 'She was very committed to projecting the faculty and her university. She was the first head of the International Relations Office, creating numerous agreements. With her fluency in English, she would call other universities and negotiate, facilitating the travel of many individuals. She loved her Faculty of Civil Engineering,' Manuel expressed emotionally.

In 1982, the engineer completed her postgraduate studies at the University of New Mexico in the United States. This phase was shared with her husband as they both pursued studies together: 'We traveled to the United States. I pursued my studies in Sports Administration and Education Administration, while she studied Soil Mechanics at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She graduated with high recognition, allowing her to later work for a year on a highway project. The same university, through one of her advisors, Dr. Jeremi Howl, brought her in to provide expertise for an interstate road project facing some challenges.'

Listening to Mr. Manuel turned out to be truly inspiring as he, too, left a significant legacy within our Unicaucana community. For many years, he shared all his knowledge with university students, fostering sports as he served as the head of what was then known as the Health, Sports, and Recreation Division.

This overseas period instilled great discipline in both of them, being a time filled with challenges: 'When we went to study in the United States, it was tough because we didn't have scholarships. We had to work wherever we could, like taking care of apartments or cleaning them, any job we could find. Additionally, we had to work and maintain our academic standing. We had very little time to sleep, around 4 or 5 hours. Maybe on Sundays, we could allow ourselves a bit more rest, but even on Sundays, we had to work. Margarita maintained that discipline; she worked, studied, and dedicated herself to her research until late into the night. She barely slept around 2 a.m. and was up again by 5:30 a.m.' Despite such intense schedules, both continued nurturing their passion for sports.

Upon returning to Colombia between 1997 and 2000, Engineer Margarita served as the Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, being the first and to this date, the only woman in that position. This achievement allowed her to further project the faculty at an international level and promote academic mobility among students. 'She was the first and unfortunately the only one, but I know that there are many brilliant women in the Faculty. Hopefully, they would be given opportunities because, in my opinion, women are more organized than men,' shared Mr. Manuel. He also highlighted his wife's research work, among which the book on Soil Mechanics stands out: 'Margarita dedicated a lot of time to research, leading her to assume many responsibilities. She authored a book on Soil Mechanics published by the Editorial Seal of the University of Cauca. It became a reference for university students, not only within our university but also for students from other universities in the country.'

And to know a little more about the protagonist of this story, it is impossible not to highlight that engineer Margarita had a great temperament that resulted from her athletic practice: "She had her temperament, which is also cultivated in high-level competitive sports. For example, you cannot show weakness to an occasional rival because lowering your gaze demonstrates weakness. It doesn't mean that an athlete should be aggressive, but they must be competitive because in sports, you don't win a match without playing it. For example, Margarita had to play on a very difficult court in Cúcuta, in the basketball temple known as the Totó Hernández court. Playing with the Cauca team against the Northern team was a tremendous challenge. It required having a great personality and not showing nerves. After facing those experiences, she became a leader," Mr. Manuel shared with us.

Thus, engineer Margarita's role as a dean undoubtedly left an important legacy, not only for the students, colleagues, and administrators who had the opportunity to meet her but also for all those women who have dared to lead managerial positions. "A positive leader, for her there were no impossibilities, what she set out to do, she achieved. Very supportive of people, she was a defender of students, she understood them, shared a lot with them, and when she was doing work, apart from soil studies or research, she believed in the product that the professors themselves were producing at the university. This led the students to propose her as dean, and later the students wanted her to be rector all the time. Also, she felt a deep respect for the communities. I was presiding over the Soccer League and had to travel to the municipalities of Cauca, so when I arrived, the children were training, from Puerto Tejada, from Santander de Quilichao, and she loved sharing with them. She was a very beloved person by everyone." Engineer Margarita applied for the university rector position twice, however, on those occasions, other people were chosen. "On two occasions, she was a candidate for the university rectorship and was practically about to become rector, which would have been fair because it was what the students, faculty, and workers wanted," Manuel states while remembering his beloved wife.

This special couple never abandoned sports, a fascinating amalgamation of their lives, the perfect mix between the academic and family fields. "She ended up being the best tennis player at the Country Club; she was a very disciplined woman, a person who was doing sports from 5:30 in the morning, gym, taking tennis classes, at noon she would take tennis classes again or play, she was very competitive indeed." Mr. Manuel recalls when thinking about his wife, with whom, apart from growing personally and professionally, they also took care of forming a home where sports prevailed. "This home breathes sports. My two oldest sons studied at the University of Cauca, Manolo graduated as an Electronic Engineer and Margarita as a Physiotherapist, Alejandro studied at the Externado. Nowadays, Margarita lives in Spain, for more than 15 years, Manolo went to the United States, got a half scholarship for being a University of Florida athlete, and stayed there; he is a senior executive of a very important company," Mr. Manuel expressed while sharing with us the trophies and medals of his family, mainly from his children who, like their parents, stood out in different sports from a very young age: it runs in their blood!

Finishing the interview, and after sharing several cups of coffee, Mr. Manuel remembered one of the most unforgettable stories with his wife, related to the football fever they both shared. "Among the football anecdotes with my wife, one that really caught everyone's attention was when in the hotel elevator we ran into the Chile national football team players, and she asked them for a photo and everyone agreed, but there was one who didn't want to, it was Alexis Sánchez, who was a Barcelona player at that time, so she said to him why he didn't come, why so elusive and good something like that, and the guy didn't want to, and she said to him: This kid is going to put 5 past you today, 5! That's how she treated him, and it turns out that by the afternoon we were at the Metropolitano in the match and it started: Chile 1 - Colombia 0, Chile 2 - Colombia 0, Chile 3 - Colombia 0, and Margarita said to us 'What am I going to do when I meet that guy, it's them who are going to put 5 past us, but no, Colombia has to improve' and on that occasion, we drew 3-3, with two goals from Falcao and the last one from a penalty, and we qualified for Brazil."

As we mentioned from the beginning, we cannot overlook that this writing will surely fall short and will not be enough to capture the great legacy of engineer Margarita. Again, we express our thanks to Mr. Manuel José Hurtado for allowing us to pay this sincere tribute to this great woman, wife, mother, and leader, through his words. We hope to have been able to capture part of the teachings that she left in the deepest hearts of those who had the opportunity to meet her.

We invite you to stay tuned for the following special deliveries of what we have called 'Faces of a Legacy,' a strategy that allows us to share stories of fantastic beings whose light has remained for posterity.