Honoured with the Master Teacher Award at Spring Convocation the highest teaching honour at the U of S and presented to only two faculty members each year Garcea is also celebrating 37 years of marriage with his wife Laurie (who holds a master's in education psychology and special education from the U of S), as well as 31 years of educating and mentoring political studies students at the university, where he has proudly watched his own children Giustino, Michele and Maria excel in their courses.
For Garcea, who has battled health issues for years since being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1991, there is plenty to be thankful for.
"It puts things into perspective, that's for sure," said Garcea, a professor in the College of Arts and Science. "I had two related things, cancer and heart valve replacements, and in both cases leading-edge university research changed my life and I consider myself lucky to be alive because of medical science research. One innovative experimental procedure that kept me alive was used at the University of Alberta, at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and the other was an innovative procedure involving nanospheres and nuclear isotopes used here at Royal University Hospital."
Garcea said those life-saving procedures are daily reminders of the value of university research in medical science, as well as in other fields.
"You realize that every day is precious and there are certain things that you can't put off," he said. "You realize how important it is to cherish your time with your family, but at the same time you also want to make a contribution to society and to the institution, because that's all what makes life worth living."
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