7/31/2018 Bridget Lynch and Karina Samuel, both rising seniors at TMI Episcopal, brought home top-place awards from the National Junior Classical League convention, held July 22-28 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.They joined more than 1,600 students from across the United States to participate in classically related activities, including numerous colloquia and academic contests covering a wide range of classical subjects. Competing against some of the country’s most talented classics students, Lynch earned fourth place in Roman Life (daily life and culture in ancient Rome), and Samuel earned fourth in Hellenic History (ancient Greece).
Both TMI students previously had competed at the Texas state JCL convention in April, where Lynch earned summa cum laude (highest honors), and Samuel earned magna cum laude (high honors) in Pentathlon, a general Latin/classics subject test.
Formed in 1936, NJCL is the largest classical organization in the world, with a membership of more than 50,000 middle- and high-school students. JCL is the second-largest youth organization in the United States, after only the Boy Scouts.
The JCL creed states, “We the members of the Junior Classical League covenant to hand on the torch of classical civilization to the modern world. We believe an acquaintance with the civilization of Greece and Rome will help us understand and appraise this world of today, which is indebted to ancient civilization in its government and laws, literature, language, and arts. We affirm the JCL experience develops responsibility, fosters brotherhood, promotes enthusiasm , encourages competition, inspires dedication, and enriches our total growth.”