It is a story I wrote in November but did not share then because, despite its intent, attaching my name to the profound loss a dear friend was going through felt exploitative. Months have gone by, and (with permission) I want to share it now. The more I learn about the complex and rapid changes in the world around us, the more I feel we should all be looking within to find the purpose that will carry us through into the unknown future.
So here is the post I wrote in November:
"Last week, a moment of professional pride coincided with a moment of profound loss. On the one hand, I moderated two panels at London Build Expo for their 10th anniversary. On the other, the world lost the man who was instrumental in making that possible: Paco Marin.
When I was a child, just as Spain was navigating its new democracy after 40 years of dictatorship, my parents had to choose a school for my brother and I to attend. Society in the Basque Country was tense and divided, and the educational system was polarised. Amidst it all, a small group of professionals led by Paco decided to set up a school rooted in our culture but open to the world.
While many chose narrow ideological paths, our school remained secular and apolitical to focus on driving excellence. By doing this, Paco Marin started a journey led by purpose and removed from traditional limits. He also showed us that vision has no borders. His work eventually built lasting professional and cultural bridges between the Basque Country and Japan, contributing to the twinning of San Sebastian and Marugame and beyond.
Everything he did proved to us that we are not obliged to work within existing confines, and instead, we can create what we feel is missing.
I say he was instrumental to my moderation last week because, aside from the formal education I received, he imagined the DV Gaztea: a weekly newspaper written by under-15s for under-15s. He saw that teenagers wanted to read what other teenagers were saying, not what adults told them.
Thanks to his vision, by the time I turned 15, my friends and I were used to interviewing musicians, actors, and athletes who were so famous at the time that it feels incredible looking back. The paper gave me access to experiences that opened my worldview, like the time Paco called my house to ask if I wanted to represent the paper at a Nuclear Energy Symposium, post-Chernobyl, at the EU in Brussels. I was just 15 and although my parents traveled with me, I was the only one to walk through the doors of the iconic glazed facade of the old European Parliament building. It was an eye-opening experience.
Last week, when I was asked how I am able to moderate with confidence, I mentioned the importance of cultivating curiosity; but I forgot to mention these foundational years. And while decades of experience led me to those panels, aside from my parents, it was people like Paco who made it possible for me to become the person who would embrace each opportunity and say 'yes' when they presented themselves.
As I moderated an intense discussion about balancing competing needs at the intersection of tourism and communities, a topic I know he was very passionate about, Paco Marin left us.
When a good friend messaged me to let me know, I thought about the many conversations I shared with him. I remembered the Monday he called me to his office to discuss the bitter irony of learning equity in the classroom while I faced discrimination in an inter-school chess tournament. I thought of the arrangements for my wedding guests' accommodation at Olarain , and the exchanges regarding the expectations young architecture graduates would need to meet when applying for work in the UK.
I write all this to give credit where it is due, but also to share something I learned from him: the courage to take action, to create what is missing in the world, and to see everything you do as a journey with purpose.
I know that finding your purpose may not be obvious now, but it will become clear in time if you take that first step."
If you made it this far, Below one of the interviews we did while working at the DV Gaztea
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