On July 24, five students from Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) joined 12 more Maryland students and set out for the National Junior Classical League (NJCL) convention at Indiana University in Bloomington. We piled into two vans and set out on a 650-mile journey through five states over two days, all to be part of 1,558 students and chaperones from 31 different states, from California to Maine, Texas to North Dakota, celebrating the culture of the classical world. As one delegate, Jenny Bo, put it, “Going to NJCL convention was the best decision I made. Throughout a week worth of time, I met some of the most wonderful people.”
The NJCL is an umbrella organization, comprised of hundreds of clubs in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools throughout the country, each one a part of its state chapter. The NJCL is dedicated to the idea of encouraging and spreading enthusiasm for the world of Greece and Rome and the lessons that world has to teach us. As the NJCL creed states, “We believe an acquaintance with the civilization of Greece and Rome will help us understand and appraise this world of today, which is indebted to ancient civilization in its government and laws, literature, language, and arts.”
ERHS students Haizhao (Jenny) Bo, Edward Brennan, Grace D’Eustachio, Julian Pitts and alumnae Katharine Toth and Elizabeth Troiano joined students from Dulaney and Easton High Schools to form the Maryland delegation to the NJCL convention (MDJCL). During the week, they took part in certamen (a type of quiz bowl), submitted art and handicrafts as a part of the graphic arts contests, competed in Ultimate Discus (frisbee) and swimming, attended colloquia led by professors from Indiana colleges and had a chance to share their love for Latin and the classics with other students from across the country.
From all of these activities, ERHS students came home with a large number of awards. Toth led her scavenger hunt team, comprised of members from other delegations, to a first place triumph, and later earned a 10th place medal for her MDJCL scrapbook entry. Pitts, D’Eustacho, and Brennan took part in the swimming event in the Olympika, and Pitts earned a 5th place finish. Bo was one half of a pairs costume entry, Scylla and Carybdis, and took 10th place. Together, the MDJCL delegation won 2nd and 3rd place in spirit on two separate days.
But it wasn’t all about competition. Most found that the feeling of community from being part of the NJCL convention was the greatest gift of their experience. According to Toth, the chance to get to know the other delegates from Maryland was something that would stay with her. “I started out knowing my Roosevelt people and some of the Easton people, but by the end of one week, I had gotten to know those people so much better, and I had tightly bonded with everyone I hadn’t even known before.” Brennan agreed, saying, “The most satisfying and wonderful thing about convention is seeing 18 individuals through the course of a single week become a family.”
Troiano sums the whole experience best: “NJCL convention is one of those things that you need to experience before you can truly understand it. I had been told so often by everyone at Roosevelt who had been before that it was amazing, so I knew I wanted to give it a shot. Convention ended up far exceeding my expectations and reminding me why I love Latin and classical study so much. NJCL is not just about language, culture, mythology and history – it’s about friendships. NJCL has brought me in contact with so many other classics lovers who actually enjoy things like going to talks about mythology in science fiction or doing cheers about King Midas. It’s bringing classical study into the modern day and making it relevant and fun. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that I highly recommend to anyone interested in classics. My only complaint is that I wish I had gone sooner.”
And Bo agrees with her: “It was seriously the (most) fun time I had in the longest time. I am definitely going to NJCL convention in Troy University next year!”
Matthew Moore is on the faculty at ERHS.