The Department of Classical Studies welcomes news from alumni! Please send news and/or photos to Rose Cohen-Brown (rcohenbr AT trinity DOT edu).

For a complete list of past and present departmental Honor Award winners, click here.

Julie Shaddox '08 is teaching English at the Bilkent University School of English Language preparatory program in Ankara, Turkey. She is putting her Latin and Ancient Greek to good use in teaching English grammar. "Ancient Greek has prepared me better for life after college than most of my other classes..."

Andrew Kinzler '06 (Classical Languages) continues his progress towards a Ph.D. in Classics at UCLA; he recently gave his Masters paper presentation and will receive his M.A. shortly.

Leticia Rodriguez '05 (A.M.S.) will again participate in the Sikyon Survey Project (University of Thessaly) this summer. She continues her work in the Institute of Classical Archeology at U.T. Austin, where she recently completed her M.A. She plans on applying for Ph.D. programs in Art History this fall, while also keeping busy by taking French and serving as the AIA local coordinator for the Austin-area chapter.

Meghan Pollard '04 (A.M.S., with a Greek minor) reports: "I am officially graduating in May with my BSN in Nursing. I am very excited about it, and I am planning to go to into Neonatal Intensive Care. I enjoy working with the infants, and the psychology of the families is incredible. I am enjoying it a great deal. I am also going to Africa in May with my school to do some AIDS clinic work. That should be very enlightening. I can hardly wait!"

John Milam '07 (Greek) is finishing up his first year in the Ph.D. program in Classics at USC. This summer she has been selected to participate in a summer graduate seminar at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.; the seminar is entitled "Homeric Nostoi."

Lisa Whitlatch '06 (Classical Languages), currently a PhD student in the Rutgers Classics department, reports that she has passed her general exams and expects to receive her MA this spring.

Heather Jones '07 has been accepted into the Texas A&M Anthropology PhD program, with a focus in Nautical Archaeology.

Amy Mann '05 has been teaching English in Prague for the last three years. In August 2008 she will begin work on a Masters in Library Science at U.T. Austin.

Mindy Spearman ('97 Classical Studies) received a M.A. in Classical Archaeology in 1999 and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2006, both from The University of Texas at Austin. She is now an assistant professor of Social Studies Education and the History of Education at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Colin Nelson-Dusek '05 recently completed his MA in Art History at UC Davis, enjoyed a position as Education Programs Coordinator at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, got married in August, went to Crete for the honeymoon, and just moved to Washington, DC in search of adventure and new experiences. He also brought some vital reading with him on a trip to Rome.

Kelly Hanson '98 is working both as an artist and as a set and costume designer in New York City. She was the 2005 recipient of the inaugural Rising Star Award from USITT/Entertainment Design Magazine. For more news about Kelly, see her bio at the Human Company, a theatrical group she co-founded in 2006.

Leticia Rodriguez '05 (A.M.S.) participated in the Sikyon Survey Project (University of Thessaly) in July 2007 and spent some time in Greece thereafter. She continues her studies in Art History at U.T. She is also a proud new aunt of baby Paloma.

Steven Leach '07 (Greek) has begun his studies at the Princeton Theological Seminary. This past summer he excavated at Ostia and lived in Trastevere; one highlight was his excavation of this lamp.

Rachel Balthrop '04 (A.M.S.) is working for Fulbright and Jaworski in San Antonio, and is contemplating graduate school. She got married to Fernando Mendoza this summer and enjoyed a honeymoon in Hawaii. Congratulations Rachel!

Kelly Leyendecker '08 (A.M.S.) and Daniel Petersen '07 (A.M.S.) also got married in Colorado on June 30, 2007. Congrats to Kelly and Daniel!

Tiffany M. Fleming '02 (Greek minor; Biology major) writes: "I am back in my home state of Ohio doing my PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati (with a full fellowship). ... Dr. Burton was one of the best professors ever and I wouldnt be where I am today without her!! Thank you."

Tim Mills (former classics student) recently received his Ph.D. from University of Sheffield in Archaeobotany.

Ryan Weber '04 has been accepted into a graduate program in Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University, and will begin his studies in Fall 2008. In the meantime he will continue as the Station Manager for KRTU: Jazz for San Antonio.

John Milam '07 (Greek) will be entering the Classics Ph.D. program at U.S.C. in the fall. Congratulations John!

Lindsey Smith '06 will be working as a professional tour guide for a cruise ship in the Aegean this summer.

Allison Kirk '06 (A.M.S.) will be entering the Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology Ph.D. program at the University of California at Berkeley this fall. Congratulations, Allison!

Michael Tworek '04 will be starting in the History Ph.D. program at Harvard University this fall. Congratulations, Michael!

Leticia Rodriguez '05 (A.M.S.) is finishing up her first year in the Ph.D. program in Art History at the University of Texas, Austin. This summer she has been selected to participate in a summer graduate seminar at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.; the seminar is entitled "The Poetics of Minoan and Mycenaean Iconography." Congratulations, Letty!

Whitney Prince '00 (A.M.S. and Biochemistry/Molecular Biology) just completed her MD at UT Houston Medical School, and is working on a residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Jeanine Edson '90 (Classical Studies) teaches Latin at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas. Click here to read one of her articles, "Latin for those Who Live under Rocks, are Juvenile Delinquents, or Watch Entirely Too Much Television."

Stephen Curtice '97 (Classical Languages) and his wife Jen have just had a baby boy, Andrew Liam Curtice. Congratulations, Stephen and Jen! After living in D.C. for a year, while Stephen worked for the National Labor Relations Board, Stephen and Jen moved back to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There Stephen did a second one-year clerkship for a justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court (he had a previous such clerkship). He is now working at a law firm in Albuquerque, doing labor law. Jen is working at the public defender's office, and taking time off now with their new baby.

Robert Scott Smith (B.S. Trinity 2000, with majors in Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Biochemistry, and minors in Ancient Greek and History) has just received his M.D. from University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, May 2005. He is now in his first year of residency in the Department of Surgery, University of South Alabama Health System, Mobile, Alabama.

Michael Tworek ('04) was awarded a Fulbright grant for studies in Poland. Michael will be researching the intellectual sources in antiquity that influenced the 16th century Polish poet and humanist, Jan Kochanowski.

Alumnus Robert Barrett, Jr.'s wife, Anna, gave birth to Frances Kay Ivy-Barrett on December 30, 2004. Rob (a Trinity double major in Classical Studies and English) is currently Assistant Professor of English at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Rebecca Stephenson '96 (a double major in Classical Civilizations and English, with a minor in Medieval Studies) received her Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Notre Dame, and is now an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Benjamin Passty '02 is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at Northwestern University.

John Herlin '04, Classical Studies (and Economics) Major and track star, was awarded an NCAA fellowship for graduate study. He is teaching English in Ecuador this semester. He reports:

"For those of you that didn't know, I am currently teaching English in Ecuador. I have been living in Quito (the capital) for the last month, and soon I move to a small town called Tena near the jungle. Over the past weekend, however, I saw something that I thought was very interesting. Last week was Semana Santa, the Holy Week preceding Easter. I live very near the historical center of Quito, surrounded by 16th century Spanish churches. Ecuador is a very Catholic country, and Semana Santa in a HUGE celebration. Walking around on Palm Sunday, I passed by one of the old Catholic churches called Santa Domingo. In the plaza outside there was a large gathering of people watching a dance performance. It was an Indigienous dance troupe performing traditional Easter dances. The routines were clearly Indigenous, with lots of jumping and sweeping, graceful movements and twirling pachos. However, at the mid-way point, a Dionysus came out, complete with animal skin outfit and mask. It was totally contrary to the mood of the previous and following routines, which were human dancers in traditional Indigenous dress. He danced wildly to loud, forceful music. He rushed at the crowd and yelled at them.
This caught me totally off guard, and then I pondered the remarkable cross-culturing of it all. This was an Indigenous dance troupe performing a traditional Easter dance in one of the major religious squares in Quito. The Indigenous peoples weren't even introduced to Easter until 500 years ago, and now it is one of the highlights of the Semana Santa celebration. And the Dionysus figure, which I don't associate with either Indigenous dance OR Easter, played a prominent role in the performance. I thought it was interesting." --John Herlin