Three Thomas More College students earned gold medals and summa cum laude certificates on the spring 2023 National Latin Exam (NLE): Catherine Gath ’26 and Thomas Greninger ’23, who took the Advanced Latin Poetry exam, and Sofia Seidl ’26, who took the intermediate level exam.
TMC Freshmen take four credits of Latin during each of their first two semesters. “Latin has a secure place in our curriculum,” commented Latin instructor Dr. Fred Fraser. “It is an opportunity for students to learn the fundamentals of the Church’s language. Moreover, because it is a language with a venerable past, students may also see, as they study examples, the final product of a mind well-formed grammatically: Latin authors, whether pagan or Christian, exemplify the skill of making sentences, such that they express the logic of one’s thought and, where appropriate, the attendant feelings or affections of the author toward that thought.”
All Freshmen put their knowledge to the test by sitting for the National Latin Exam, which, according to Dr. Fraser, is done for two reasons: “First, so that the College may have a third party evaluate the students, and in this way have an outside standard by which to gauge the Latin program. Second, it allows the students to see their own progress vis-a-vis a national standard. Many of our students exceed this standard.”
Indeed, this is the fifth gold medal for Miss Gath, who earned previous medals during her high school career. In recognition of this achievement, the Exam’s administrators awarded her a copy of Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin and the World it Created by Nicholas Ostler. “Taking the NLE is a rewarding experience because, through assessing your progress, it reminds you that you actually are progressing,” Miss Gath remarked. “It can be easy to get discouraged while ploughing through miles of translation with no end in sight, but the sense of accomplishment gained from achieving an award from the NLE can be most encouraging. I look forward to continuing my study of Latin here at the College, and I appreciate that the curriculum enables the students to delve into original Latin texts, opening the gateway to some of the best philosophy and literature of Western Civilization.”
Miss Seidl also won a gold medal, despite having no former knowledge of Latin before coming to the College—a testament to her hard work and to the quality of the instruction offered at TMC. “Having been nervous about Latin before beginning my first semester, I think my results speak to the accessibility of a liberal arts education. With patient and persistent study, the pursuit of knowledge is readily available to all,” she said. Beyond grammar and syntax, learning the language has led Miss Seidl to develop a greater appreciation for ancient Rome. “I find it fascinating that linguistic structure can reveal a lot about the culture of a civilization. This is particularly true about Latin. The order that governed the Roman way of life is manifest in the way they spoke. Studying Latin is an opportunity to better understand the Roman people, whose influence is still apparent today.” Miss Seidl hopes to continue her study of Latin at the College through the more advanced opportunities provided to upperclassmen.
One student who took advantage of these opportunities is Mr. Greninger, who graduated in May. He prepared for the Advanced Latin Poetry exam, which he sat for during his Senior year, by taking Dr. Fraser’s tutorial on Virgil’s Georgics. This is the second gold medal for Mr. Greninger, who previously earned a summa cum laude on the intermediate exam during his first year of studies. “I enjoyed taking Latin at the College,” he stated. “It is a beautiful language and the language of the Church. I appreciate being able to pick out parts of the liturgy, which I can translate; it is almost more beautiful to look at a Latin phrase and know what it says, than to look at the same phrase in English—even though the meaning is the same.”
Potential students of all levels of proficiency have a place studying Latin at Thomas More College. “For those who have not had Latin before, the College’s somewhat accelerated pace allows them to complete the fundamentals of Latin grammar and syntax comfortably in one academic year,” said Dr. Fraser. “TMC is also honored to welcome students who have had significant training in Latin prior to enrolling, and we look forward to helping them continue their studies at an advanced level.”
For further reading:
Why Study the Great Books? One Professor’s Apologia for a Thomas More College Education
