Your Dad Would Have Been Proud

Throughout undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Engineering, Michal Yomtovian (24) cared for her father Yossi, who was battling cancer.  “In the preliminary interview with Dina Yeminy, Administrative Head of the Faculty, my dad’s illness came up. The question was whether this was going to affect my studies,” shares Michal, alumna of the Computer Engineering track. “But my parents were adamant about me getting my degree, and thankfully, I was able to successfully complete my studies.  The Faculty is very supportive and close-knit, and I was privileges to study under excellent professors and make life-long friends, which helped a great deal. My dad passed away last year, just as I was completing my final exams.”

“He had been ailing for years, but never acted like a sick person. He was a very strong man, with a big spirit,” says Michal’s mother Yaffa. Recently, Yaffa published a children’s rhymes book, titled The Rooms of Grandma’s Heart. “I began writing about ten years ago, when my first grandchild was born. I never thought of publishing – I was too busy tending to my husband. Buy Yossi encouraged and pushed me to publish. I remember one day, he was laying on the sofa, and he suddenly said: ‘After I’m gone, they can say I was the husband of a poet.’ I signed the contract with the publishers two months before he died. But the poem selection, the illustrations and design were done after he passed. For me, this is a tribute to my Yossi. I think he would have been proud.”