In Tennessee high schools, universities, and beyond, classics graduates are leading in education, research, and advocacy.

We are thrilled that Abigail Braddock Simone (’02) of Germantown High School is serving as president of the Tennessee World Language Teaching Association this year. We are lucky to have a teacher of her administrative savvy, powerful communications skills, and absolute commitment to our common cause in this leadership role.

Magister Sandy Hughes (’05) has a passion for emphasizing Greek as well as Roman culture in his Bearden High School classroom. He was accepted into the highly selective American School of Classical Studies Summer Seminar, “People and Places of Ancient Philosophy,” and he received the school’s Katherine Keene Scholarship to boot. Warmest congratulations, Harenose! 

Jeremiah King (’01) went back to school for an MS in data science, while tutoring Latin to home-schooling students. 

Award-winning Latin teacher Magistra Susan Neas Hankins (’86) has earned her wooden sword after 37 years at Greeneville High School (GHS). She has been a model teacher and citizen. We are delighted that Magistra Adelle Rosendale (’24) will follow in her footsteps at GHS.

Stephanie McCarter (’00), professor of classical literature at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, has received a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as a Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship from Harvard University. She is on leave in Australia, working on a new translation of Ovid’s Art of Love, Cures for Love, and On Women’s Cosmetics. We can’t wait to see her next masterpiece!

Magistra Meera Patel (’18) earned an MS in data science with a specialization in artificial intelligence. She has created a mental health app for youth in Puerto Rico and now is working in the Hawai’i Department of Health, gathering and analyzing data on children’s health. She credits our department with providing her with a holistic education that is serving her well.

Ethan Peebles (’25) has been accepted into the MA program in early Christian studies at the University of Notre Dame, with full funding.

Magistra Kate Seat (’09) taught Latin five years in Kennesaw, Georgia, and is beginning her ninth year at the Collegiate School of Memphis. The school’s Latin program is thriving, with more than 90 students in a high school of about 200 students. Sixty percent of the seniors who started in the Latin program in 2022 have continued all the way to Latin IV, for which students can earn dual enrollment credit through the University of Memphis. Highlights from last year include 72% of students scoring at or above the national average on the National Latin Exam.

Magistra Mary Walter (’22, ’24) is starting her second year teaching Latin at Pigeon Forge High School, where the students are particularly interested in finding derivatives of words. She reports, “Kids are more interested in the culture than I thought they would be, and some of their questions are really interesting once you cut through to the real question (Did Caesar like soccer —> was Caesar a fan of sports/what sports did they have in Ancient Rome).” Obviously, you are a natural at this, Mary!