Some of you know I’m currently studying English literature at Hillsdale College. You might not know that I’m also majoring in classics, studying ancient Latin and Greek texts (including the New Testament) in their original form. Last fall in a Latin seminar I translated Virgil’s Eclogues, a series of ten pastoral poems describing quiet country scenes and recounting the conversations and songs of shepherds. I then wrote a research paper about the Eclogues and submitted it to the national Society for Classical Studies at the encouragement of my professors. A few months later I discovered that the SCS had accepted my paper for presentation at its annual conference! Among many scores of panels and research presentations by professors and graduate students, the conference includes one panel of five undergraduate students presenting papers, which is what I’ll be a part of. So, in January of 2016, I will be in San Fransisco sharing my research along with four other members of our national undergraduate classics honorary, Eta Sigma Phi.

All that said, a friend of mine and fellow Hillsdale student, Katie Kortepeter, has written about my paper in an online article featured on the college’s “Student Stories” blog. If you’re interested in learning more about the actual ideas I explore in my paper, you can check out her article here! I hope you enjoy the glimpse into the more academic side of my writing.