A memeber of Aya's fan club

I first met Aya when I did my M.Sc in statistics at the Technion. Unfortunately (for me) she taught me only 2 courses.
The first time I walked into her classroom I froze. Literally! I froze to death. It was the middle of the summer, 40 degrees in the shade and minus 10 in the classroom. I’m sure all of Aya’s students and colleagues know what I’m talking about. Turns out Aya has a long term relationship with the very-very-cool side of the air-condition system…
The next lesson, I was prepared! Believe it or not, I took my army coat (yes, yes, in the middle of the s-u-m-m-e-r ) and attended the lesson. Wow – I’ve struck gold this time. Aya was so clear, so fluent and so enthusiastic about teaching she really made everything seem easy… and interesting – from that day on, I am a proud member of Aya’s fan club.
When I gave my thesis presentation, I was soooo stressed. All the professors and colleagues attended and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish the first slide. And then came Aya , holding her famous fruit cake.
Now.. I wasn’t her student, I was never her teaching assistant, but there she was – thinking of me. She said she thought I’d be just a tiny bit pressured and that a cake always helps. Well, it sure did!
So now the queen of ice with the warmest of hearts is retiring. I wish her all the best, really.
And, Aya, I’m just adding a personal note here – You taught me statistics (and did it so well) but you’ve also taught me to become a “mentch” and I believe this is even more important that statistics :) ,

A (no longer) secret admirer,

Sharon Biran