28/12/2025
There are absences that make no sound, yet change everything.
Since you left, the world looks the same on the outside, but inside it lost its compass. Not because the path no longer exists, but because you were the one who pointed it out without imposing it, with the calm of someone who knows and the humility of someone who teaches without raising his voice.
Professor, mentor, friend… there are words that today fall short. You were presence before title, guidance before instruction. In every conversation you left something more than knowledge: you left confidence. The kind of confidence that allowed me to believe ITMMI could grow, evolve, cross oceans and languages, and become a true community. Today, in silence, I ask myself who will now offer that steady orientation, who will help me read what is not written, the way you always did.
I promised to learn English to communicate with you better, and today that promise is still alive, even though I can no longer speak it in front of you. I hold onto it as an act of loyalty, because true commitments do not die with absence. I also promise to safeguard what we planted together: an institution with principles, with values, with ethics, with humanity. Just as we envisioned it. Just as we managed to begin.
You achieved what very few ever do: uniting people beyond language, country, and culture. Dentists from all over the world found in you a point of connection, a shared vision, a common purpose. You broke barriers without grand speeches; you did it with coherence, with example, with a smile that appeared precisely when words were not enough. In the end, when we could not fully understand each other, you would laugh… and say “see you soon.” That “see you soon” carries more weight today than ever.
I am still waiting for that gesture. That laughter. That light you always turned on when everything seemed confusing. There are days when I want to wake up and convince myself this was only a nightmare, that I will see you again where you always were. But you are no longer here… and yet, you remain. Because your teachings did not leave with you. They live on in every ethical decision, in every act of academic generosity, in every professional who now works with a broader vision because of you.
Thank you for being my friend.
Thank you for showing me that a community is not built on ego, but on purpose.
Thank you for believing before it was evident.
Today we walk forward carrying your legacy in our hands. Not as a burden, but as an honor. And although the emptiness hurts, we will continue, because that, too, is something you taught us.
See you soon, Professor.
The light you ignited will not fade.
Carlos Garcés DDS
Professor International ITMMI
