“Becoming a Tec professor emerita is the greatest honor of my life”

Read time: 7 mins

"I wouldn't trade being a professor for anything because those moments are truly special."

This is how retired professor Inés Sáenz describes her life's passion.

After 35 years at the Tec, 25 of them spent in the classroom, the former dean of the School of Humanities and Education was honored with the title of professor emerita of Tecnológico de Monterrey, along with 21 other faculty members.

The appointment is an honor given to retired faculty members who have distinguished themselves through academic excellence and a commitment to education, both in and out of the classroom.

"Being a Tec professor emerita is the greatest honor of my life," she said in an interview with CONECTA.

Inés Sáenz was named professor emerita by Tec de Monterrey. Photo: Kevin Chaires

A Tec professor since day one.

When she was a child in Torreón, Coahuila, she devoured her grandparents' books. Later, a theater teacher at PrepaTec had a profound impact on her. "He made me fall even more in love with literature, and I went on to study literature."

Next came her master's degree, followed shortly thereafter by her doctorate, both from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

"I was starting my doctoral program and nearing the end of my dissertation when I said, 'No, I'd like to go back to the Tec. I'd like to be in that place where I saw my professors lead such fulfilling lives and teach.'"

"They would get together on Friday nights and invite each other over to their homes. They were more than just colleagues; there was a kind of intellectual friendship between them (...) I wanted that to be my world, so for me, it was the most natural thing in the world to return to Mexico."

Inés Sáenz says she has been a professor since her very first day at the Tec.

"It's worth it. I wouldn't change it. I can't imagine myself… honestly, I wouldn't change being a teacher (...) and I wouldn't change it because that moment (of teaching), I'm telling you, honestly, that moment of being there is unique. For me, it was something to cherish."

"For me, the most important thing I used to say was, 'How can I get (the students) to learn and keep reading?' That's something I'm very clear about. I want to foster a love of reading."

The former Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability at the Tec believes that reading is a form of training.

"It's an abstraction. It's like training yourself to understand complexity and ambiguity (...) It builds a logical framework for thinking, how to make inferences, detect fallacies, and identify contradictions because that's just how human beings are."

In 2026, the Tec honored 22 faculty members by naming them professors emeriti, including Inés Sáenz. Photo: Kevin Chaires

The day she disagreed with Gabriel García Márquez

The professor emerita has witnessed countless innovations and some of the most disruptive changes in the various educational models adopted by Tecnológico de Monterrey during her more than two decades as a professor there.

"I was impressed by my experience working at the Tec's Virtual University. We had synchronous satellite sessions, and the rest was asynchronous."

"We had to get creative with video sources, music, moderating computer-based interactions, etc."

One day, while helping teach an online class for the Master's in Humanistic Studies, she saw Gabriel García Márquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature, walk by. Márquez happened to be visiting Monterrey campus.

"He was very interested in creating something like this in Colombia. I was responding to questions from the students. They showed him the booth with a monitor displaying a teacher giving a lesson. García Márquez looked at everything and said, 'Okay, but no, I don't like it.'"

"I explained to him, 'No, sir. Look. Through online learning, for example, you can get to know your students through their writing and style.' 'No, I'm not convinced,' he told me. 'There's just nothing like a hug.'"

"I don't know. Something, some kind of energy, drove me. I said to him, 'I've been reading your stories since I was a teenager. I remember reading The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother. It touched my heart, and you weren't there to comfort me.'"

"He said to me, 'You're right. I'd like to invite you to my journalism workshop.'"

But, what I mean is, what is virtuality? What is closeness? What is distance? How do we form relationships with others? In short, these are very interesting questions.

"The most important thing for me was asking, 'How can I get (the students) to learn and keep reading?' I'm very clear about that. I want to foster a love of reading."

Inés Sáenz says that she has been a professor ever since her very first day at the Tec. Photo: Archive

Engaging students, the biggest challenge

For Sáenz, her biggest challenge as a teacher was figuring out how to motivate her students.

"Something that really troubled me and got me thinking was, what have we done in the field of education to end up with students who are so indifferent to knowledge, so listless and apathetic?

"You can influence some people; others you can't, but is there some appreciation for knowledge? Yes, because of the grade but not because of the learning process, which is slow and involves reading, hard work, discipline, and interaction."

One of the strategies she implemented was to avoid negotiating.

"Taking the exam was non-negotiable. Turning in the assignments was also non-negotiable."

She also noted that, as a teacher, she always made sure her students felt heard.

"I vividly remember a college student telling me that he couldn't read a book by Rosario Castellanos.

He told me, "I can't read it. I can look at it, but I can't read it. "So, we came up with a whole strategy to get him to start reading and to have him read aloud to me."

According to the professor emerita, reading aloud is amazing because you begin to adjust your pace, understand the words, and incorporate them into your voice.

"I used to spend time with him outside of class while he read. That brought about a huge change in him."

In response, Sáenz said that, in Mexico, children receive no further support for reading once they learn to read.

"Often, that's where they stop. Their preparation and training as readers ends there, which is extremely important today, precisely because they don't learn about the different registers of language, complex sentences and structures, or unreliable narrators."

Inés Sáenz was Tec de Monterrey's first Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability. Photo: Kevin Chaires

The fight for inclusion, social impact, and sustainability

Sáenz was the first Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability at Tec de Monterrey.

In that role, she played a key part in guiding the organization's efforts to create a more sustainable world, aligning them with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

"I think we owe it to ourselves and to society because the Tec is an educational institution. We need to change that mindset," she says.

She also coordinated inclusion projects at the Tec through the Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity.

"Society needs to broaden its awareness and become more tolerant and pluralistic. It must become more open to dialogue and acknowledge our differences while respecting them."

These efforts also include ensuring the safety of the community and eliminating all forms of gender-based violence.

The professor emerita played a key role in guiding the institution's efforts to create a more sustainable world, aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: Archive

"The Tec is its people"

Sáenz explains what Tec de Monterrey means to her.

"It was my home for many years. It represents many things: my colleagues, those who are here and those who are no longer here, whether retired or still in school. The Tec is a vibrant community, a place with the potential to transform people.

"Our commitment to quality and excellence motivates us to always do our best and stay up to date. That's an incredible commitment on the part of the Tec. The Tec is its people."

Regarding her appointment as professor emerita, she said that she felt very grateful and proud.

"I received messages from both the rector and the dean. I felt very honored. It's a great honor for me. It's the most incredible appointment."

When asked how she would like to be remembered, she said that the most important thing to her is if people remember something she taught them.

"That's all. I have no desire to be famous. That's just how life is. You learn about impermanence. They remember me today. Who knows if they will tomorrow? That's okay.

"Those who do remember should say, 'I read because of a teacher.' That's what it is for me," she concluded.

With information from Ricardo Treviño

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