Meet our Seniors
Russell Raymond Ausrota
When I was six years old, I saw my older brother in a school production of Jason and the Argonauts, and I never recovered. My primary interest is what we can learn about individuals and cultures through their representations of their real or imagined past, particularly through the lens of epic. That analysis is as productively applied to texts in their contemporary world as to their reception, and, because I am also majoring in philosophy, I am immensely curious about questions like what Hegel’s reconstruction of Roman history can teach us about his thought.
Francesca Carrillo
Hello! I am Francesca Carrillo, a graduating senior in Classics with a concentration in Archaeological Anthropology. I am primarily interested in Classical archaeology and art history, particularly cultural exchange and interaction through material culture. I was first drawn to Classics by the imagination it requires to navigate these strange worlds, which resonated with my interest in creating visual art. My interest in the arts developed into a passion for ancient art history and archaeology, and I have had the privilege of excavating at Hadrian’s Villa with APAHA and studying abroad in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies. I hope to continue my education in Classical archaeology and further explore questions of cultural heritage and public engagement with the past.
Lyla Guthrie
As early as my freshman year of high school, I figured I would end up majoring in classics. In fourth grade, I was gifted Minimus: Starting Out in Latin, and in seventh grade, I began formally studying the language. I continued learning Latin throughout high school and began taking electives on the ancient world. I fell in love with the poets of the late Republic and early Empire. I was captivated by this recurring theme of control and what it meant within the context of the turbulent period they wrote in. My college application process was thus a decision about where I would major in classics, and given that I had developed an interest in philology and theory, the faculty members and courses offered at Barnard and Columbia greatly appealed to me.
What I did not expect was how far I would be able to branch out in classics. While I have largely focused on the literature and arts of Italy (before, during, and after Rome), I have also had the privilege of taking a number of courses on ancient Egypt. This fall, I am interning in the Egyptian Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In September, I presented research on post-pharaonic Egypt at a conference hosted by the University of Leiden. Classics has also allowed me to embrace my dramatic side: I played Electra in Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama Group’s production of Euripides’ Orestes, performed entirely in Ancient Greek.
Majoring in classics has taught me how to construct fierce, nuanced, and cogent arguments, to reckon with the inherent compromises of translation, and most importantly, to learn from my brilliant peers. I am forever indebted to the departments at Barnard and Columbia for their support, and I feel so grateful for the education I have received.
Danika Kello
I am a Classics major studying Greek and Latin with minors in Modern Greek and Anthropology. While I loved reading ancient mythology growing up, I did not consider Classics as a major until I participated in an archaeological dig in Athens prior to starting college. The torch was lit then, but it was only through my coursework here at Barnard and Columbia that I developed my specific interests within the field. Having studied everything from ancient historiography to Greek drama to Classical Egypt, I am deeply appreciative of the diverse and interdisciplinary opportunities afforded by the Department to explore and broaden my perspective as a classicist.
In particular, studying ancient and modern Greek in parallel has challenged me to reimagine how to approach Classics and led me to the world of Classical reception. In addition to Greek lyric poetry and tragedy, my interests have converged upon Philhellenism and Modern Greek reception studies, especially the poetry of the Greek Modernists, including C. P. Cavafy and Giorgos Seferis. In my current research, I am engaging with the relationship between Greek antiquity and modernity as articulated within their poetic worlds.
As an undergraduate without prior experience in Latin or Greek, I am profoundly grateful for the support of the extraordinary faculty here at Barnard and Columbia. They challenge me every day to think critically and creatively, to vigorously defend my arguments, and to stay open to new ideas. As the beneficiary of all this, I am equipped, confident, and excited to forge my own path forward in the academic world and beyond.
Eseroma Jone Batiuluna Matebalavu
I am a Classics major reading both Greek and Latin, completing the Dual BA with Trinity College Dublin, where I am writing my capstone this year. What draws me to the ancient world is the way the past gets made: how societies reach back to explain their political order, to claim legitimacy, and to invent themselves, not least as "the West." The same instinct runs through my love of the languages themselves. I relish their precision, and the way words can be shaped, bent, and repurposed to serve an argument.
Herodotus has been my constant companion in those questions, above all in Shane Wallace's Greek class at Trinity. At Columbia, Liz Irwin's class on the Odyssey taught me to read against the grain, finding the subtext beneath the epic's surface and the quieter critiques of Odysseus himself. In Latin, my passion is Cicero, whose De Re Publica and Pro Caelio show the same mind at work in political theory and in the courtroom, turning language into an instrument of power.
Sam Mezrich
I originally came to Barnard as a prospective math major with no Classics experience and stumbled upon Ancient Greek while fulfilling my language requirement. I quickly learned that I had a mind for it, and have been zealously studying Greek and Latin ever since. My interests are always changing, but right now I am enjoying thinking about didactic texts like Hesiod’s Works and Days and the Greek New Testament. I have also enjoyed studying Modern Greek during my time at Columbia, something I definitely recommend for all Classics majors! In the next few years, I am working towards becoming a high school Latin teacher, and therefore I am incredibly grateful for the pedagogical insights I have gained at Columbia. The incredible support I have gotten from peers and professors alike in the department has been unmatched, and I will take it with me for the rest of my career!
Amelia Reichert
I began learning Latin at age 7 in school, and my study of Classics has continued ever since. It has come with me from the UK to Ireland and now to the US as part of my education. Everything within the spectrum of this area of study has been an engaging experience, but my particular interests have always been the Latin and Classical Greek languages, as well as the ancient epic literature such as the 'Aeneid', 'Metamorphoses' and the 'Iliad'. Being a part of the Dual BA with Trinity College Dublin and undergoing an undergraduate education at two universities has been an amazing opportunity and has given me an incredible learning experience across what will soon be four years. Classics is deeply important to me, and I want to take it with me into my working life and beyond after my graduation.
Miles Wiedmann
My entrance into classics came somewhat unexpectedly. Growing up, my primary pursuit was always theatre, and for high school I went to Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts right here in NYC. It was while in high school that my love for reading brought me to the world of classics, and for the first time, I discovered something I was as passionate about as theatre. I have continued to perform in my free time on campus at Columbia, but I also thankfully don't have to keep these two interests of mine entirely separate. I have been able to take several classes on Greek tragedy with incredible scholars of the field who are a part of the Classics faculty at Columbia and Barnard. I have also become increasingly involved with the Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama Group's plays in Ancient Greek, first in their 2025 production of Oedipus at Colonus as Theseus, then in 2026's Orestes as the titular role, and this coming spring I will be directing their production of Prometheus Bound. Studying Greek tragedy continues to expand my understanding of theatre as an art form and the enduring relevance of classics into the modern day. I have especially explored, across several classes, papers, and creative projects, unexpected manifestations of identity, gender, and bodies on stage and how we can use modern fields like trans studies to uncover new insights in ancient plays. I hope to continue explorations like these and to keep working on Greek theatre even after graduation.
Finn Witham
Since learning about state of nature and social contract theories in high school, I’ve been interested in the 'nature-culture' dichotomy as well as the way people's ontological theories—their conceptualizations of 'nature' and especially of 'human nature'—impact social, cultural, and political discourse. As I explored these interests in college, I eventually settled on Classics after taking courses in history, English, and philosophy: I became fascinated by the way debates about nature and society take shape in fifth- and fourth-century Athens, millennia before Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. I’m also interested in the development of ontology by the physikoi (pre-Socratics) as well as what Homer can teach us about life in an earlier stage of civilization. I plan to specialize in Greek, and as I’ve delved deeper into the language, I’ve discovered an additional passion for poetry—especially the analysis of meter and its relationship to meaning. I’m grateful for the support and opportunities the department has provided thus far, and look forward to continuing to learn more from brilliant professors and peers.