Over the last weekend in March, Harker Latin students headed to Miramonte High School in Orinda to attend the 60th annual Junior Classical League (JCL) State Convention.

This year’s convention theme was “Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito” (“Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.” – Vergil Aeneid VI.95). At the convention, students enjoyed workshops, fellowship with Latin students from all over the state, and competitions involving many aspects of classical knowledge.

During the weekend, grade 12 student Maya Nandakumar earned the most points of anyone, with seven first place wins for a total of 17 awards. Counted among those were the individual overall awards for arts and academics, garnering her the greatest number of points in each of those single categories as well. 

“This convention was really the culmination of my long journey as a classicist here at Harker. When I started back in the sixth grade, I remember being enamored with the attitude and passion of the attendees, and that really sparked my curiosity for Latin. Since then, pretty much every activity I’ve been a part of has, in one way or another, been a branch of my zeal for the ancient world,” recalled Nandakumar.

“I knew that for my final convention, I wanted to leave this organization with no regrets, and for me that manifested in entering nearly every competition I could. There were so many contests that I’d always wanted to try and never had the courage to. Knowing that this was my last chance pushed me to my limits during the two days of convention. Overall, the experience was incredibly bittersweet, but the perfect way to finish my time here,” she added.