2017 Graduation
On Sunday, May 14th, we lauded, toasted, and celebrated with our 2017 graduates! A fun time was had by all, thanks to the professors' funny regalia, olive wreaths, shout-outs, and delicious food.
Congratulations to all our 2017 grads! You inspire us with your passion and creativity and we can't wait to see what you do next! Please keep in touch -- you'll always have a home with us in Morton.
Below are listed the "shout-outs" that were read at graduation as the students received their diplomas. These were composed by each student.
Adrienne Nims
Classical Studies - Latin, Physics
Beginning this summer, Adrienne will be pursing her Master’s in Foreign Language Education at the William & Mary School of Education, with the ultimate goal of becoming a high school Latin teacher. She would like to say a special thank you to her professors here in the Classics department, all of whom greatly inspired her to choose this career path.
Cody Lyon
BS Psychology | BA Classical Civilization
Classics has long held a distinct and fond place in my heart. From my first Latin class nearly ten years ago where I got to experience the riveting plot of the Cornelius family in Ecce Romani to now capping my intensive exploration into Greek and Roman culture and history, I have cherished all of the moments, memories, and friends that the field of Classics has has given and will continue to remember them for the rest of my life. Going forward, I hope to be able to work in the field of Advancement, specifically at William & Mary and help this wonderful school, and this amazing department, continue to grow and improve for the benefit of many students to come.
Abigail Bradford
After graduation, I'll be continuing on at W&M for the 5th year education program in which I'll be getting my teaching certificate and master's in earth science education. This summer and all of next year I'll be continuing my internship at the Muscarelle Museum of Art.
My favorite memory had to be my first semester freshman year in Dr. Oakley's Greek Art and Archaeology class. I registered for it to reach the minimum number of credits but immediately tried to drop out of it after my cousin told me he got a 30% on Dr. O's first test (he said it was the hundred layers of Troy that tripped him up). I ended up sticking with the class and have a vivid memory of studying for the first test on my friend's floor with dozens of papers of Greek artifacts on the ground in a timeline that stretched the entire length of the room. At that point I was thinking long and hard about my decision to come to college at all, but to my surprise the next day I took the test and knew everything on it. I aced that test, but more importantly I realized how much I genuinely liked archaeology. A year later, I declared my major in Classical Archaeology with Dr. O as my adviser.
Eason Weinmann
Eason feels blessed to have received such an amazing education at the College of William and Mary. Her favorite memories in the Classics department were during her travels in Greece and Italy. In Greece she met her best friend, Daniel Sanchez, and on both trips she was constantly awed by the incredible sites of antiquity. In the future she hopes to continue to learn through traveling the world. She would like to thank her parents, Brooke and Winston for their constant love and support, her siblings Ginny, Tucker, and Whit for grounding her, and her beautiful grandmother Pi for inspiring her with her spirit and love of life.
Amanda Rivera
I will be moving to Boston in the fall with my boyfriend and my cat Minerva to pursue a Ph. D. in Classics. I have enjoyed my short stay here at William and Mary a great deal and I am very thankful for the guidance I have received.
Donna Kinney
Donna Kinney will be attending Regent University School of Law in the fall. While at the College, she actually quite enjoyed being on the third floor of Morton, despite the stairs. One of her favorite college memories was the time she spent studying abroad in Italy with Professor Swetnam-Burland. Donna's favorite play is 'The Bacchae' by Euripides, and she has a poster of the Battle of Issus above her bed. Thank you!
Phoebe Warren
Phoebe is so thankful for her four years at William and Mary and for the education she received with the Classics department. Her favorite memories include studying abroad in Greece and Rome, even though Prof. Panoussi and the rest of the group once abandoned her and Gwen at a metro station in Athens. She will be moving to Washington D.C. this summer, and her ultimate professional goal would be to somehow apply her two semester’s worth of Greek vase painting to something. She would like to thank her professors for challenging her, her parents for supporting her, and her little brother for making fun of her Classics major for the last two years.
Gwen Steuart
Being a major in the Classics department remains one of the best choices that I made at William and Mary. My favorite memories range from rewarding myself with the movie Gladiator after writing a research paper on Roman gladiators, to countless trips up to the third floor of Morton - at the end of which I was unfailingly out of breath. I can’t thank my professors enough for all that they’ve done these past four years, and the same goes for the wonderful friends I’ve made in this department. My plans for the future are still uncertain, but I can be certain of three things that I wish to happen: I wish to take another 5 euro donkey ride in Santorini; master the metro system of Athens so I don’t get left behind; and have a dinner party with Greek cheese - because, if it’s Greek cheese it has to be good. Thank you so much!
Peter Gordon
I am currently pursuing a career in business. I may return to school to seek a degree in business or architecture. My favorite memory from my time in the Department is undoubtedly studying abroad in Greece in the summer of 2015, but especially standing before the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
Wolf Jones
The first independent study I did with Dr. Irby. We looked at comparative mythology from all over the ancient world and then compared it with later developments in Early Irish mythological cycles. Comparing the aristeia of Achilles and angry spasms of Cu-Chulain was a lot of fun.
Abigail Simon
Abigail has been a devoted member of the Classical Studies department since her freshman year when a fellow Latin student threatened to pursue her as an enraged Dira unless she declared a Classics major. Four years later (counting inclusively, of course) she has to concede that even the chthonic deities know what they're talking about, because she could not have asked for a better place to spend her college career than in the outpost of Rome known as Morton hall. She will be teaching middle school math and language arts this fall, and in her spare time she hopes to indoctrinate her students into Latin and Greek.
