I've always liked learning, but bad teachers at school made me hate some subjects (like philosophy, or Spanish history) and made it hard for me to study them. I must confess I have forgotten everything I learned about those subjects, and have no intention to fill that hole; those teachers left a deep dislike in me about those topics. I have been able to overcome part of that dislike about history because I like to read historical novels, but I will never be able to like philosophy.

Later, she excelled in academics. She studied biology and obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Navarra. As a doctoral student, she worked as an assistant in the math department. Within two years, she was asked to replace the statistics teacher, which led, in turn, to her going back to the study of statistics to attain a broader and deeper understanding, and so be able to teach it well. She continued, on her own, to take courses in multivariate statistics “Just for the fun of learning,” she says. To illustrate this point, she revealed that during her honeymoon in London, she and her new husband spent one day at a big bookstore buying books. Two of the books she bought were about statistics.

Today, Marta is an instructor (associate teacher) at the University of Navarra. She enjoys teaching and is really happy when she has a good student who, at the end of class, comes to her to ask for more.

She thinks that the quality of science and math education in Spain is generally poor, so it takes more time and much work to teach statistics. “Statistics is a tool of science,” she says. “Students don’t know the reason for statistics if they don’t have a good foundation in science.” Part of the problem is that Spanish citizens, having recently experienced a dictatorship, are suspicious of authority and any teacher who attempts to exercise authority in the classroom is, therefore, suspect. Marta thinks the best thing parents can do to help their children learn is to encourage them to read

Marta also runs a business as an advisor to university researchers, department heads and people preparing their Ph.D.—mainly medical students. She shares an attractive office with her sister who, she says, “is an oenologist and wine-tasting teacher” [Oenology is the study of wine.] Marta’s office, which is also used by her sister as a training room, is full of interesting and attractive wine bottles, which lends a friendly and sociable air to the room.