Randolph-Macon College student Grace McIntire ’19 has been awarded a National Latin Exam (NLE) New Latin Educators Scholarship. McIntire was one of six recipients selected from a national competition. NLE scholarships are given to students who are earning a degree in Latin or classical studies with the intent to teach Latin. McIntire is a Latin and Greek major with minors in secondary education, mathematics and history.

The New Latin Educators Scholarship
The six recipients each received a $2000 New Latin Educators Scholarship and will receive funding to attend the American Classical League Institute (ACL) during the summer after their junior year. The ACL is committed to the “preservation and advancement of our classical inheritance from Greece and Rome.” During the Institute, students will attend sessions on ancient authors, technology, and pedagogy.

“The Department of Classics is absolutely thrilled that Grace has won this prestigious and highly competitive award,” says RMC Classics Professor Bartolo Natoli. “We are especially excited that she will be able to use the scholarship to work toward her goal of becoming a Latin teacher. Grace’s kindness, humility, and talent are unmatched, and she will undoubtedly be an incredible leader for Latin pedagogy in the years to come.”

From Latin Academy to RMC
McIntire chose Randolph-Macon after attending the Latin Academy, which has been hosted for the past five years at RMC. During the Latin Academy, which is held for three weeks each summer, high school students are immersed in the culture of the Greco-Roman World while studying topics that are rarely taught in secondary schools or college.

“I knew I loved Latin, but it wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I realized I wanted to be a Latin teacher,” says McIntire. “After attending the Latin Academy, I sat in on a Latin class at RMC and realized that Randolph-Macon was the college for me: It has an amazing Classics Department.”

From Dream to Reality
McIntire was notified about her NLE scholarship while she was attending the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) meeting, which was held March 16-19, 2016 in Williamsburg, Virginia. CAMWS is an organization for classics teachers at all levels, as well as classics undergraduate and graduate students.

“I was shocked that I was chosen for the scholarship, and I’m so honored to be given the opportunity to explore the classics more in-depth,” says McIntire. “This scholarship means so much to me because it will help me make my dream of becoming the best Latin teacher I can be a reality.”

McIntire is also the recipient of Paideia Institute Living Greek in Greece scholarship. The Living in Greece program, which will be held July 30-August 14, 2016 in Selianitika, Greece, is an intensive introduction to spoken Attic Greek. In two daily, seminar-style meetings, participants read and discuss ancient Greek literature and philosophy in Attic Greek.

Life as a Yellow Jacket
On campus, McIntire serves as secretary of the Student Virginia Education Association and is a member of Eta Sigma Phi, Leadership Fellows, and Service Fellows.

“The best thing about being a Yellow Jacket is the sense of community between students and professors,” says McIntire, whose post-RMC plans include graduate school.  “The faculty are always there for students.”