The 2019 graduate recipient of the Lamberton-Rotroff Award is Classics MA student Kayla Zoschg.
Kayla is planning to participate in the American School of Classical Studies in Athens’ Summer Seminar “Greece from the Sea,” in which students live on and learn to sail a boat on the Mediterranean, as well as study and visit sites, museums, and Greek hosts. An athlete and avid language student, Kayla seeks to challenge herself both intellectually and physically during summer break. She has also won an ASCSA Lawler Scholarship to support her participation.
Kayla writes: “This summer seminar – a dynamic, hands-on experience of academic inquiry – will engage both my body and my mind. The topics investigated in this seminar are also directly relevant to my coursework and research interests. Ancient athletics are a natural interest of mine, and this seminar specifically provides the opportunity to learn about ancient boating, which I could apply to research about boating competitions, such as those conducted by the ephebes at Salamis and Piraeus. I also seek an enriched understanding of the texts I will study upon return (not to mention the practice and vocabulary to handle nautical jargon in Homer and Hesiod!). But what makes this program most exciting for me is the fact that I have not yet visited Greece, and I believe that direct experiences in situ can only enrich me as a student and as a representative of Classics. I am confident that my interaction with Greece through the unique experience of this seminar will inspire me to approach my subsequent studies of Greek language and culture with a stronger, more personal connection to the material.”
