Calder Classics is thrilled to have two phenomenal interns, Bailey Franzoi and Jill Shah, working with us this summer. Bailey and Jill are both high school students in the New York area. Why do they enjoy Latin and the Classics? Meet them below and find out more.
My name is Bailey Franzoi. I’m a junior/rising senior at Marymount School of New York, where I just completed my AP Latin course. I’ve taken Latin since fifth grade, and while it was required in my grammar school, I enjoyed the study of the Latin language and ancient culture immensely and continued the subject into high school.
I first heard about Calder Classics after hearing Ms. Junkermeier speak to my school’s Latin Club (of which I am the Vice President) about her experiences in the field in Rome’s catacombs and as a woman in the classics. I especially loved hearing her speak about her work in the catacombs, since it has always been a dream of mine to use my interest in Latin, art history, and history to discover new things about the classical world first-hand. I wanted to learn more, and I went online to the Calder Classics website. I had heard of programs offering learning experiences for high school students and was interested by them, but when I read about the trips offered at Calder Classics, especially the one to Pompeii, I was fascinated. I was impressed by the Calder Classics blog and Twitter because of how they linked things happening in today’s pop culture and media to themes in works of classical literature or works of art, which I often do in my other school subjects, especially British Literature.
I’m really happy that I’ve joined Calder Classics as an intern to learn about marketing in a small start-up and the use of social media to further the study and appreciation for the classics. I have learned so much already, and I can’t wait for the rest of the summer.
Hello, everyone. My name is Jill Shah and I am currently a senior at Riverdale Country School who is matriculating to Columbia University this fall and interning at Calder Classics. In other words, I am a Latin nerd. And here is why I am such a Latin fanatic.
Furthering my knowledge of the Greco-Roman world through learning Latin has allowed me to gain an appreciation for the classical world within a modern day context. Through reading Cicero, I learned all about the art of oration and the intricacies of formulating a logical and coherent argument. Whenever I have to prepare for a debate in class, looking back at the structure of Cicero’s Catilinarian Orations helps me to articulate a convincing case. I am able to imitate his use of rhetorical questions, metaphors, and tricolons in my own speeches. Reading Vergil, on the other hand, has inspired a love for poetry. His use of repetition, juxtaposition, and word pictures has shown me the malleability and beauty of language in poetry. Studying Latin has introduced me to a different, vibrant, and gorgeous world, where I know that there is even more to learn.
Academically, my study of Latin has improved the quality of my schoolwork and intellectual abilities. Because my mind works in a very mathematical way, the demanding and methodical nature of translation suits me. As a Latin student responsible for translating and memorizing hundreds of lines, I have improved my ability to process and retain large quantities of information. The quality of my English writing has developed dramatically as a result of learning Latin grammar. However, more profoundly, because I analyze ancient Latin texts using my own original reflections and interpretations, Latin has taught me how to think. Although learning Latin is very systematic and rigorous in translation, understanding the meaning of my translations requires me to make connections by thinking about the moral values and historical references embedded in the text. As a result, I see more everywhere. When I was studying the Declaration of Independence in my Constructing America class last years, I started to think about the classical roots of American history. I was trying to analyze the meaning behind the text, a skill that studying Latin has engrained in to me. The knowledge of the past that I have gained by studying Latin has given me a finer and broader view of the present.