It is worth noting that nearly every question Maria asked had centered on philosophical topics. They are ethics (mentor, role model, choices, relationships), metaphysics and belief (soul, God, dying), logic (reasoning well), politics and government (citizen, justice, law), gender (women), epistemology (what can be known), the environment (the earth), and race and ethnicity (being Hispanic). At the end of her life, in contemplating the full range of her years, it was philosophical questions and concerns that dominated her thoughts.

But what if these questions were instead asked at a young age? What if a college student could consider the profound questions of human existence? What if there were a discipline that might produce in a young person a sense of wonder and humility concerning the universe and its possibilities? And that that discipline would give her the tools to think critically, to make distinctions, to reflect meaningfully on the world around her, to work toward global justice, and introduce her to some of the greatest minds who ever lived? In effect, what if a student could encounter ideas that might later affect positively the life she led? If there were such a valuable discipline—one that concentrated on the art of living well—then surely any student should be encouraged to study it. And yet there is; it is philosophy.