With the story of María Elvira Guevara Álvarez, a Civil Engineer who served as a professor in our Civil Engineering program for 37 years and who, along with other colleagues, over those nearly four decades at the service of the Caucana Alma Mater, helped propel significant activities. She had the fortune of collaborating with the Research and Services Center, the "Ingeniería Hoy" magazine, the Hydraulics Laboratory, the structuring of the Specialization in Water Resources Engineering, and in deepening knowledge about Bridge Scour, just to name a few academic spaces. We resume with the contributions of #FacesOfALegacy.

August 16, 2023, was the agreed-upon date for a very special encounter. At the Hydraulics Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Faculty, we had the long-awaited appointment with Engineer María Elvira. Several months earlier, we had contacted her for an interview, but she was traveling, which meant we had to wait quite some time before we could finally meet. As things always happen for a reason, the beauty of this story lies in the fact that this meeting took place within a poignant coincidence. The reason? In the initial minutes after greeting us, the engineer surprised us by expressing with deep emotion: "I must begin by saying that today is a very emotional date for me, as on August 16, 57 years ago, my father Guillermo Guevara, who was a Civil Engineer from the University of Cauca, passed away. He was associated with the institution from 1933, the year he graduated, until practically his passing."

Guillermo Guevara, María Elvira's father, served as dean of the Civil Engineering Faculty on three occasions. Furthermore, he played a role in establishing important companies for the capital of Cauca, such as the Cauca Electric Utilities and the Water and Sewerage Company. Besides his professional accomplishments, he laid the foundation of his daughter's knowledge as he was responsible for María Elvira's education until she was 8 years old. "He taught me addition, writing, multiplication, reading, basically everything. He used to say that everything had to be done with quality. Since then, I held onto a concept that can be summarized as quality is writing what you do and doing what you write. I am grateful because by the time I entered school, I was already advanced in that."

So, as the engineer puts it, "With this great legacy, one might assume that the children would want to become professors, but nothing could be further from the truth, at least in my case. It never crossed my mind to be a teacher because I always considered it as an activity of utmost responsibility and commitment, somewhat ungrateful, and for which I would never be prepared. In other words, for me, being a professor implies having the highest standards as a person and a professional, but here is how the story of why I reached 37 years as an educator begins."

Although María Elvira was initially intrigued by studying Electronic Engineering, in the end - perhaps because the love for another type of engineering ran naturally through her veins - she decided to pursue Civil Engineering. She completed her studies in 1981 and almost immediately started working at the INGETEC company in Bogotá. "Because of the reputation of the Civil Engineering Faculty, I was given my first job in roads. I had to correct topography portfolios with a basic calculator, pencil, paper, and eraser. After a few months, I had the opportunity to work on the review of plans for the Bogotá - Medellín highway, and later, I participated in designing a small section of a third-order road for the Guavio Hydroelectric Plant that connected the press area with the machine house."

However, the dream of engineering had always been hydraulics. "Since I was young, it seemed to me that dams and bridges were the biggest projects that a Civil Engineer could undertake," hence, while at INGETEC, she was supported to transition into the field of hydraulics. Alongside a hydrologist, they were tasked with designing channels that "are linear structures that connect two points, with similar checks regarding speed, slopes, but with notable differences," she explains with great devotion to the subject and an undeniable passion.

This experience served the engineer well so that in the year 1984, she could complete the requirements and obtain a scholarship from the Government of the Netherlands, in South Holland, specifically in the city of Delft, to pursue a specialization in Hydraulics. Her plan was to finish her specialization and continue working at INGETEC; however, "Just as I was about to return, two events occurred that sadly marked Colombia's history. One was the takeover of the Palace of Justice and a few days later, the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, which caused the tragedy of Armero. Colombia was so tumultuous that I decided it was better to come to Popayán and visit family and friends. During these visits, I met with the then-rector, Engineer Harold Muñoz, may he rest in peace. He proposed that I join as a professor in the Faculty of Civil Engineering. I had never even considered becoming a teacher despite my father's legacy; my mind was set on returning to Bogotá. However, Harold and the faculty directors, including Galo Cosme and Rodrigo Cajiao, were very kind, patient, and courteously asked me in January 1986 if I accepted the position. I thought they were offering me something very important on a silver platter and said, 'Alright, let's accept it for a semester. It will serve my resume, and then I'll look for opportunities elsewhere.'"

That's how, on January 20, 1986, Engineer María Elvira conducted her first class in Hydraulic Structures, for which she tells us, with mischievous smiles, that she didn't feel prepared. Apart from her notes, lectures, and materials arriving by ship from the Netherlands around June, the engineer highlights that her fellow lecturers were Germán Oramas (R.I.P.) and Rodrigo Lemos, whom she considered true authorities on the subject due to their solid academic training in the former Soviet Union.

During that first semester of teaching, María Elvira organized a trip to Cerrejón, an experience filled with both good and bad anecdotes as she recounts. At the start of the journey, while passing through the municipality of Cartago, the new bus they were traveling in broke down: "During Holy Week, we were going to Cerrejón with professors Germán Oramas, Rodrigo Lemos, and around 30 students, thanks to the university's upgrade, two new buses had arrived. Harold Muñoz said, 'Where do you want to go?' So, we set off on one bus. The project under construction was the open-pit coal mining in Cerrejón, which meant traversing all of Colombia. We organized the trip and set off, but the bus got stuck in Cartago, and since it was new, it couldn't be opened. It was the eve of Holy Week, and when we called for assistance, no one answered. So, we had to make a decision. The bus stayed parked, and we hired another one, but we made it to Cerrejón. When we returned, I thought I would be fired. I was in a probationary period and left a bus in a parking lot. But do you know what the then-dean, Galo Cosme, told me? The important thing was that you went and came back safely, which motivated me to stay in the university."

Repairing the bus was a lengthy process because the insurance company didn't want to cover it. However, they managed to recover the bus. Recollecting this unforgettable memory, Engineer María Elvira recalls another anecdote, "During those days, the rector, Harold Muñoz, came to the faculty and wanted to go to the office. We entered the office, I turned on the light, it turned on, and seconds later, it went off. He looked at me and said, 'You blow up buses, how can you not blow bulbs?'", the engineer recalls with a smile from ear to ear.

After a period as a teacher, thanks to Alfonso Murgueitio's invitation, María Elvira had the opportunity to be part of important spaces such as the Research and Services Center, a precursor to the Vice Chancellorship for Research. Later on, she also became involved with the Engineering Today Journal. "By invitation from the late professors Luciano Rivera and Juan Manuel Mosquera, this journal began to be published with the assistance of Galo Cosme and Rodrigo Cajiao, and especially with the involvement of students, who managed it as a business. It was very rewarding until approximately the beginning of the 21st century when the management had to be handed over to the Research Committee, until the journal disappeared due to various reasons."

In addition to these experiences, one of the most rewarding for engineer María Elvira was participating in the reconstruction of the Hydraulics Laboratory. This laboratory had been equipped after World War II but was affected by the 1983 earthquake. However, they started its reconstruction and reequipping with resources from the Inter-American Development Bank and the Nation, a project led in a general sense throughout the university by engineer Hugo Cosme. "With the support of engineer Adolfo León Ojeda, who was then the head of the Hydraulics Department, we began designing equipment that was built in car workshops in Popayán. I remember the workshop by the Molino River owned by the Salazar family. There was no experience here in designing or building this type of equipment, but we did it. Many of these are still in use, and manuals for the respective practices were also structured. These were very rewarding years that alternated between teaching, some administrative positions, and sporadic collaborations with other departments, including structuring the Specialization in Irrigation Engineering, for which Rodrigo Lemos was responsible.”

After being involved in different projects within the university, the engineer decided to focus more on her core profession. In 1993, she was fortunate to win a Fulbright Commission scholarship to pursue a Master's in Science with an emphasis on Civil Engineering at Minnesota in the United States. This experience opened doors for her to work at Barr Engineering in the United States, where work related to bridge scour was beginning. "This topic was introduced to me by Professor Luciano Rivera, who always said that one must prepare for the future. Bridge scour was a matter of concern in Colombia; the most significant influence came from the Mexicans, and now I had the opportunity to have the American approach. I spent six months working on bridge scour; they thought I knew, and I thought they knew, and it was a joint process. In early 1996, I returned to the University of Cauca, and the late engineer Leonardo Zuñiga proposed that I lead a specialization course on bridge scour. So, I organized some class lectures that, by the end of my academic life, became books."

Throughout her teaching career, this experienced woman has always emphasized the importance of a second language, despite comments from her students saying, "Why teach English if bridges are going to fall in Spanish?" In response, the engineer recalls, "During Margarita Polanco's tenure as dean in the late 20th century, our only female dean tried to promote student exchanges. As a result, we had a student in Croatia and another in the Netherlands. I hope this serves as inspiration for new generations to see that with study and dedicated work, they can achieve great goals."

At the beginning of the 21st century, María Elvira had a full-time teaching job, as her colleagues from the Department, who had also been her teachers, began to retire. This allowed her to lead all the basic courses at the Hydraulics Department, in addition to working on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary projects and structuring the Specialization in Water Resources Engineering. Then came the pandemic, an experience that changed everyone's lives, but for the engineer, it represented an opportunity to participate in a learning process using alternative methodologies. "It was very pleasing to see that there was a group of teachers prepared to face education from home. I had no idea about these topics; I didn't know how to make a video, I didn't know about platforms, I only knew how to use Skype. That's why graduate Olga Lucía Tacha, whom I had supervised in her thesis, offered to teach me how to use Zoom. She said, 'You've taught me many things, so now I'll teach you.' I started to feel more at ease when I saw that we were going to handle everything with Google tools. It was a couple of years with almost no break; I was dedicated to preparing classes 24/7. Finally, I was able to return to face-to-face teaching and spent a year preparing for my retirement, which became effective four long months ago," said the engineer, expressing satisfaction with a fulfilled duty.

To culminate this important stage of her life, she decided to take one last trip with her students. However, this time, a little closer and without the experience of the broken-down bus. They visited the north of Cauca and the Valle department, including the CVC; S.A.R.A-B.R.U.T, ASORUT, Calima hydroelectric plant, Guillermo Valencia and La Balsa bridges. This journey allowed her to end her 37 years of dedication to the Civil Engineering Faculty of the University of Cauca on a high note, marking the beginning of a different era focused on her personal and family life.

"I am deeply convinced that Civil Engineering will continue to be a necessity. I extend an invitation to study it with commitment. For example, if we look at developed countries, they have practically everything built. However, much of that infrastructure is becoming obsolete and engineers are needed to plan, maintain, rehabilitate, and recover structures such as roads, bridges, dams, among others. I also invite us to rethink the course orientation, to think beyond, because surely Artificial Intelligence won't have all the answers. So, let's study, work, enjoy, and dream because sometimes dreams we never imagined do come true," shared Engineer María Elvira to conclude her story.

For us, it was a great honor to have the opportunity to learn about the story of such a dedicated teacher and professional. Her love and commitment in assuming the responsibility of shaping the future professionals of the country are evident, confirming that the most valuable heritage our University possesses, without any doubt, is its people.

To Engineer María Elvira, we wish her great success in this new stage of her life, with the full confidence that she will reap the rewards of all the challenges she faced as a teacher. We also thank her for taking some of her time to provide us with the information that is now materializing in this third installment of our special 'Faces of a Legacy.' This strategy commemorates the 150 years of the Civil Engineering Faculty, a faculty that has laid the foundations for making the dreams of so many people a reality in this institution.

Related Articles 'Faces of a Legacy'

• The woman who broke several paradigms within the history of the Civil Engineering Faculty. (http://www.unicauca.edu.co/versionP/noticias/universidad/la-mujer-que-ro...)
• 150 years of the Civil Engineering Faculty, the history of a great legacy. (http://www.unicauca.edu.co/versionP/noticias/universidad/150-a%C3%B1os-d...)