Volume 5 - Number 3

Tamara Bauer (BA 1977, MA 1984) has been honored by the American Classical League as one of its Meritus/Merita Award winners for 2000. This award recognizes distinguished and sustained service to the classics profession generally and to the ACL in particular. Tamara, now a middle-school teacher in Massachusetts, taught in the Cherry Creek School system in Colorado for 17 years.

Zachary Biles (MA 1995, PhD 1999) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR. Zack is teaching beginning through advanced Greek language classes and Greek literature in translation.

Lara Dillard (MA 1995) is now a Captain in the US Air Force Reserves. In 1998 she separated from active duty to stay home with son Michael. Michael is now three and has a younger brother, Matthew (one year). Lara's husband flies C-5's for the Air Force. She writes: "Greetings to all! I miss my studies in Boulder. . . . I still haven't yet found an outlet for my interests in Classical Studies, but I'm enjoying every minute with my boys."

Sara Grigsby (BA 1999) works in the laboratory at the Broomfield Waste Water Plant in Broomfield, CO. She and her colleagues run tests for the plant operators so they can determine how the plant is running and tests for the state to make sure that the plant is not violating any standards. Sara is a new resident of Westminster, CO.

Ed Hellwig (BA 1996) recently started a new job in Santa Monica, CA as an automotive editor for www.edmunds.com whose website provides information to consumers looking to buy a car. Ed reports that he and his fellow editors have the enjoyable job of actually going out and test driving new cars and then reporting back on what they think. Ed sends his regards to Classics, "the best department at CU."

Sherwin Little (MA 1990) is the newly elected vice-president of the American Classical League and thus succeeds Kendra Ettenhofer (MA 1989) in this position. The vice-president of ACL has the formidable task of organizing and supervising the organizations annual workshops and meeting held in June.

Megan Moews (BA 1998), who is working on an MA in Underwater Archaeology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, spent the month of August in Pohnpei, Micronesia, investigating whaling which were wrecked in that location during the time of the American Civil War.

Matthew Tindle (MA 2000) has taken a job as a Systems Engineer for Dictaphone at its branch office in Tampa, FL. Matthew and his wife, Mary Wiland Tindle (MA 2000) reside in the Tampa area.

Helen Vickery (MA 2000) is teaching Latin I-IV at Boulder High School this year as a long-term substitute for Jane Woods (MA 2000) who is on maternity leave. Jane and her husband Michael welcomed new baby Sophie Elizabeth on November 8.

Mary Zang (BA 1993) teaches social studies at Slavens School in Denver where she hopes to start a Latin program. Slavens is a K-8 school that has an enrollment of 450 students with 50 students per grade level.

Wallace Ragan (BA 1979, MA 1981) has begun his 18th year teaching at St. Albans School in Washington DC. Wallace, along with his wife Joan form the "Classics Department" at the school. Joan teaches fifth grade Latin, 6th and 7th grade elective Latin and upper school Latin IV or AP Latin. Wallace teaches upper school Latin (I, II, III and usually AP) and Greek, as well as other electives.

Wallace is well known to the many students who view segments of the Forum Romanum series as the weather person, Aulus Serenus. His persona's costume is a bright blue child's bedsheet replete with comets and stars, a golden filet (appropriate for his role as vates rerum caelestium) and a golden wand. Serenus was originated by Forum Romanum creators John Donohue and Jane Hall to provide geopgraphical information and comment to support the theme of the persona notanda interviewed or some cultural aspect featured.

Wallace writes that in early Forum Romanum segments, "we used a rather crude map of Mare Nostrum with past-on suns and clouds, but later segments feature a more techno map used by real weathermen. This was a bit of a challenge to master since it was on a monitor opposite the blue screen where I stood next to yet another monitor with the script! Which is to say, multa uno tempore mihi agenda erant, while trying to keep somewhat in character and trying to preserve what little dignitas a Latin teacher in a kid's bedsheet talking in Latin can have!"

His students derive great glee from seeing the usually staid Magister Raganus chattering Latine on what strikes many of them as a completely extramundane TV program. Those who wish to view the Forum Romanum series may order tapes from ACL's Teaching Materials Resources Center for $10 for three shows.