Yesterday, Luz Stella, our representative of Colombia for the Class of 2016 – sent me a beautiful email and attached were her words and images expressing her 6-month Coffee Italian adventure. I would like to share with you her thoughts and what this Master’s Program meant to her.
Enjoy.
There have not been many times where I have decided to dedicate and spend time to writing something that is not scientifically related: after all, it is not expected of me with my background. This time, however, this is something, that even after almost a month, I want and need to do.
I have known about the Master’s in Coffee Economics & Science since its first edition in 2011. Coffee is a world that rallies around you and I could not resist going back to college, even for the fourth time. But this time, it was so that I could have a relevant and multidisciplinary preparation and knowledge in the field that is a real passion for me: coffee. And my turn to come to Italy arrived in 2016…every situation comes into your life at the right moment!
It is not possible for me to continue writing this post without expressing my gratitude to the Ernesto Illy Foundation and all who are involved in this project, especially Madame Illy. I know it is an experience of a lifetime to be part of this Master family, and it is a total privilege to enter into the first formal accredited postgraduate educational program in the field of coffee in the world.
Coffee economics and science together gave me and all my classmates the best tools to face the coffee industry’s challenges. We are now capable of not only having a conversation regarding coffee prices, genome expressions or sensory evaluations, but also discussing and providing solid professional points of view.
Different backgrounds, cultures, ways of thinking, perspectives on life, English accents: these were the unique aspects that were present every day, during every class…a diversity in itself. After all, when you have 16 countries from four continents, nothing more than a wonderful learning experience can happen. Teams and group work, approaching and solving problems in dissimilar methods, all taught us new concepts and allowed us to keep on growing and increasing our knowledge.
The world “last” was pronounced, unfortunately, many times during the second week of June, a little reminder that the journey was about to end. What Andrea Appelwick said was true: this was the last time that all of us would be together at a dinner party, at a dance club, at the Master Building…but I have no doubt that this is the beginning of new experiences, guided by one of the most valuable and enriching stories that has been written into our lives. I am sure I will open my little music box of memories and I will live those moments again, the unique and unforgettable instants of my first six months of 2016.
People say that you cannot start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one; however in this re-reading of these past months of the Master in Coffee Economics and Science, we will definitely find answers of many questions of the future.
One again, I had to leave behind physical spaces: our apartment where we lived, our classroom, the cafeteria and amazing places such as Piazza Unità and the gulf of Trieste, and of course I have to mention the cafés and bars where we used to spend our “spare” time.
But the most difficult thing to face was the fact that eventually we would no longer share any new moments with our classmates - in other words - with ours friends. The same feeling of years ago when I knew that new and solid friendships were born, I however also knew that it could take a long time before I would share a coffee in person with many of my friends again. No matter how time slowly seemed to pass during some classes, time flew like crazy during these 6 months as a whole.
The intensity and, in some cases, the stress of the last weeks were part of the everyday life at the Master building, and we somehow forgot that those last days of the Master’s program were in fact the conclusion of a special phase of our lives.
I have no words to express our thanks to all on the master staff: Andrea, Federica, Davide…what a team! Always there with the right word and encouraging the Master students to do things in the best way possible, to enjoy every moment and to be responsible and get the best of results. They were our family for those months and they are also now part of our good memories.
There is no other way to end this post, but by saying that “the dream of coffee” - as Andrea Illy reminded us during his lecture on the first day of the Master’s Program - “can become a reality for all of us. That is the magic of the world of coffee!”
I wish everyone - past, present and future Coffee Masters - all the best.
Class of 2016, los extraño mucho y espero verlos pronto.
Buena suerte y buena mar.
-Luz Stella