Clarita Carlos (Facebook)

Professor Clarita Carlos couldn't help but become sentimental--and probably emotional--when she said her final goodbyes Saturday, Aug. 12 to her office at the University of the Philippines' (UP) Faculty Center, a place she has called her home for the past 57 years. 

"Today, I look back at 57 years of teaching , and counting, as those of us who have retired, need to give up our respective offices at the Faculty Center, rm 222 in my case, for the new generation of young faculty," she wrote on Facebook. 

"As I look out of my window today, for the LAST TIME , there is a sense of deep sadness as I sit on the solihiya chair which has been my chair since 57 years ago, as a young Instructor... But… as in everything… everything comes to an end as far as my department is concerned…," the former National Security Adviser (NSA) said in a tone of gloomy acceptance. 

In a subsequent Facebook post, Carlos--a veritable institution in UP--shared her "last look" at her seminar room, but not before being flooded with good memories of her teaching profession. 

"As I evacuate my books and papers from rm 222, Faculty Center, i took a last look at my seminar room, witness to many many decades of discussions on geopolitics, regional integration, philosophy of social science, etc and the thousands of students over the past 57 years," she wrote. 

"One realizes that life, after all, is all about beautiful memories of mentoring young scholars… which does not end till one breathes her last…," added Carlos, who now works as House Speaker Martin Romualdez's chief policy adviser on security and defense concerns. 

She ended the particular post by saying, "Goodbye Faculty Center… you have been truly a part of the fabric of my life as a political scientist." 

At any rate, Carlos promised to "continue teaching in the UP, in another geography".