25 students, 4 sponsors, 724 miles, and 1 NJCL convention. Members of Jesuit’s Junior Classical League, a club for Latin students, traveled to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana for the National Junior Classical League Convention, which drew thousands Latin and Greek students and teachers from across the nation.
There the students of the Classics competed in academics and athletics, learned about Greco-Roman culture, and showed their state spirit. “I always enjoy the camaraderie between our students and watching them meet kids from other Texas schools. I especially enjoy when they meet friends from other states. It’s nice to reach out and meet new people over a shared interest of the Classics,” said Latin teacher Vanessa Jones. She, along with fellow Latin instructor Lisa Druebert, History teacher Brandon Bub, and scholastic Tom Croteau, SJ, stayed in Bloomington with the Dallas Jesuit scholars.
A variety of competitions were held, ranging from tests on mythology, Latin vocabulary, and Roman life to chess, basketball, and volleyball tournaments. Mrs. Jones quoted the NJCL creed, saying that the competition “fosters brotherhood, and contributes towards their growth as a student of the Classics.” Furthermore, she said, “It also contributes to a lifetime love of learning of not only Classics, but education in general. Many of these students are autodidacts in their respective JCL specialties, e.g. Greek Derivatives, Roman History, Ancient Geography, et cetera.”
Students like Giovanni Rivas ’18 loved the spirit of everyone there. “During General Assembly, you can really feel (and hear) the enthusiasm! And obviously we aren’t excited to sit in an auditorium for 2 hours, we’re excited to be there and be the living Rome of today! NJCL is proof that Latin is far from dead,” Rivas said. Yet, Texas was not showing enough enthusiasm in its cheers during the initial General Assemblies, when all the state delegations convene in the IU Auditorium. So, because Jesuit did show spirit, inventing its own cheers (like one referencing the absent Ontario delegation), it was moved to the front of Texas’ section to rile up the rest of the Texan students. “When Jesuit was told to help hype up the rest of the Texas delegation during our last assembly, it just made me laugh at how we influenced everyone else with our presence,” said Junior Michael Miramontes.
Miramontes also liked connecting with students from across the country, saying, “What I really enjoy about the JCL a conventions is the social aspect, just being able to connect with other teenagers who share an interest in History, and especially at Nationals, where everything is bigger and people from all over US, just to meet friends and have fun celebrating the past, an experience you can’t quite get anywhere else but JCL.”
It was certainly a successful convention, with multiple Jesuit students earning ribbons. Most notably, Jack Schwab ’17 won 1st place in Latin Oratory Level III as well as winning multiple other ribbons. Carl Quist ’19 was 2nd in Dramatic Interpretation and Slogan, and Jack Mason ’16 placed 2nd in Essay Level IV. For a full list of all 41 ribbon winners, see the end of this article.
The IU campus was large, so the walks between events were long, some finding it difficult to adjust to the long treks. However, it was a beautiful campus. “I attended national JCL on the IU campus as a JCL student back in the nineties, and I remember enjoying the so much I even applied to go to college there, and hoped to major in the Classics there,” said Mrs. Jones. “It’s a lovely campus. My favorite part was the little river than ran past the auditorium and had little bridges and rock work around it.”
Everyone is excited for next year when the convention will be held at Troy University in Alabama. Said Miramontes, “I’m really excited for Troy because I get to see all my friends that I made this convention, and get the opportunity to meet new people and have fun.” Jesuit is ready to return and conquer another convention!
Ribbons:
1st – Jack Schwab (Creative Arts – Latin Oratory Level III)
2nd – Jack Mason ‘16 (Creative Arts – Essay Level IV)
2nd– Jack Schwab (Creative Arts – English Oratory)
2nd – Carl Quist (Creative Arts – Dramatic Interpretation)
2nd – Carl Quist (Creative Arts – Slogan)
3rd– Carl Quist (Creative Arts – Essay Level I)
3rd – Gabriel Farrell ‘19 (Graphic Arts – 3D Small Models)
3rd– Jack Schwab (Creative Arts – Essay Level III)
3rd – Michael Miramontes (Competitive – Open Certamen [Quiz Bowl])
4th – Jared Petroll (Academic – Greek Life & Literature)
4th – Tyler Ochs (Graphic Arts – Pottery)
5th – Kristian Baluyot ‘16 (Creative Arts – Essay Level IV)
5th – Gabriel Farrell ‘19 (Creative Arts – Sight Latin Level I)
5th – Caleb Longwell ‘18 (Graphic Arts – 3D Large Models)
5th – Jared Petroll (Olympika – 200 meter Senior division)
5th – Giovanni Rivas (Creative Arts – Latin Oratory Level II)
5th– Jack Schwab (Creative Arts – Sight Latin Prose Level III)
6th – Kieran Taylor (Creative Arts – Dramatic Interpretation)
6th – Michael Miramontes (Graphic Arts – Mosaics)
6th – Carl Quist (Graphic Arts – Large Models [Stained Glass])
6th – Aidan Leahy (Creative Arts – Essay Level IV)
6th – Jared Petroll (Creative Arts – Slogan)
7th – Connor Thomas (Creative Arts – Essay Level II)
7th – Giovanni Rivas (Creative Arts – Sight Latin Level II)
7th – Rutherford Allison (Creative Arts – Essay Level I)
8th – Carl Quist (Creative Arts – Latin Oratory Level I)
8th – Gabriel Farrell (Creative Arts – Essay Level I)
8th – Nick Motter (Olympika – 100 meter Senior Division)
8th – Nick Motter (Creative Arts – Essay Level II)
9th – Tyler Ochs (Creative Arts – Essay Level I)
9th – Kieran Taylor (Creative Arts – Essay Level III)
9th – Jared Petroll (Creative Arts – Essay Level II )
10th – Jaylon Briscoe (Academic – Greek Derivatives)
10th – Michael Miramontes (Olympika – 400 meter Senior Division)
10th – Kristian Baluyot (Academic – Greek Life & Literature)
11th – Daniel Reed (Academic – Ancient Geography)
11th – Tyler Ochs (Academic – Greek Life & Literature)
11th – Jack Mason (Academic – Greek History)
12th – Cameron Schutze (Academic – Mythology)
12th – Aidan Leahy (Academic – Greek Life & Literature)
13th – Michael Miramontes (Academic – Greek History)
