Students, whether current or alums, are the heart of UGA Classics. This page is dedicated to the many successes, personal, academic, and professional of our students, on campus and abroad. UGA Classics: Preparing you for what comes next. Jo Spellman completed their MA at UGA in 2023, and is currently in their second year as a PhD student in the department of Classics and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, also pursuing a doctoral minor with the department of Gender and Women's Studies. The work on Roman Comedy they began at UGA is still a key part of their research. In the spring of 2024, they presented portions of their UGA thesis, "Battle Lines: Gender and Violence in Terence's Hecyra," at the 120th Annual Meeting of CAMWS, and are currently in the process of editing the project for publication. Read More about Jo Spellman Mohammed Al Eethawi is a third-year student at the University of Georgia. He is pursuing two degrees in Biology and Biomedical Physiology, with a minor in Classics. His long- term goal is to attend medical school because his lifelong passion has always been medicine. Unlike other students with a passion for medicine, Mohammed has a unique view of the field. He believes in the past as much as he believes in the future. He stated that “without the colors of the past, the future is an incomplete portrait.” Consequently, with the help of the Classics department, he was able to travel to the past and learn about the early years of medicine. During the spring 2023 semester, Mohammed worked closely with Dr. Mario Erasmo on his very first research paper, titled Claudius Galen: The Great Roman Physician and Anatomist. His research focused on medicine during antiquity times, which he explored through Galen’s work. Through this research, Mohammed learned one major concept regarding medicine during that time – that the purpose of medicine was not to help those in need. Read More about Mohammed Eethawi Elizabeth R. Lavender: My interest in academic study of ancient Greece and Rome developed in high school. When looking at colleges, I identified schools with strong programs in Classics and chose UGA over other options. Memorable experiences from my years as an undergraduate major include coursework on the late ancient Roman Empire and Augustine, Aristophanes, Greek rhetoric and tragedy, and Roman art history; meeting new friends at Classics Club, a branch of the national undergraduate society Eta Sigma Phi; and studying in the departmental library in Park Hall. Read More about Elizabeth Lavendar Ari Anderson: I graduated from UGA in 2019. I arrived in Athens my freshman year with broad plans of attending law school after graduation, but lacked any specific direction of the path I would take to get there. I settled on political science as my major and began the process of choosing my classes for the fall, which led me to enrolling in an elective titled Introductory to Greek Mythology taught by Dr. John Nicholson. What I did not know at the time was that this course would awaken an academic curiosity that I had not yet experienced. I finished that semester feeling inspired and craved the opportunity to take more courses in the classics department. I continued taking courses with Dr. Erika Hermanowicz, whose teaching challenged me to reevaluate what it means to think critically and communicate those thoughts with intention. Read More about Ari Anderson Daniel Rivera: The scale of UGA’s campus seemed so large that first day–It took me a good part of my first semester to acclimate to its scale. The library itself was larger and more labyrinthian than the whole of the school I had transferred from. But, it was not that library where I eventually found myself whittling hours away in pursuit of Latin mastery. It was in the simple, unassuming rooms in Park Hall that I would meet Augustine, Cicero, and many others for the first time. The Alexander Reading Room, smaller than my living room, shelved on its walls the great story of Western civilization in all its immortal tongues. Read More about Daniel Rivera Teddy Starling: Classics at UGA opened me up to so many worlds. I learned about ancient Roman culture and philosophy, the history of medicine and medical terminology, and of course, the wonderful language of Latin. The writing in Classics courses also helped me, as a Biology and Psychology major, to translate the lessons I learned from classes, volunteering, and research on to the page in my personal statement and essays. Perhaps most importantly, the wonderful professors in the Classics department challenged me to think outside the box. For instance, Roman Culture wasn’t just a history class: we were invited to use history and philosophy as a vehicle to expand our consciousness and think critically about our place in the world.Read More about Teddy Starling David Liss: Since graduating with a degree in Classics from UGA in 2019, I made the difficult decision to pursue a law degree instead of becoming an archaeologist. After spending a year teaching English in northern Italy and working part-time at a think tank in Washington, D.C., I attended the George Washington University Law School. I currently serve as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable James A. Crowell IV in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Beginning October 2024, I will continue my career as a cybersecurity prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice. Read More about David Liss salvete, omnes! My name is LaReece Stewart, and I graduated from UGA in 1993 with a B.A. in Latin. During my time there, I was challenged to prepare fully and independently. Initially I was a psychology major and decided to change said major to Latin AS A JUNIOR after meeting with Dr. Richard LaFleur and Dr. Jim Anderson. At first my parents were not overly thrilled since this meant my staying at UGA for an extra year; however, they both understood my reasons when I began teaching and loved life! My first teaching job was at George Walton Academy, and I learned so much about teaching from the administration and staff. Unfortunately, my numbers of Latin scholars dipped so low that I felt compelled to seek other opportunities for earning a living. So, I went to paralegal school (lots of Latin in legal terms!) in Atlanta and worked in the legal field in Athens for ten years. During all of that time though, something profound was missing. Students. Interactions with teenagers. Working alongside amazing faculty. And so, I returned to teaching in 2008! Read More about LaReece Stewart Learn more about student success in our Newsletters.
