As part of Ravenscroft's students' strong overall performance on the National Latin Exam given in March 2020, Latin V student Eleanor Campbell '20 earned a gold medal for her demonstration of mastery.

It was her fourth gold medal on the rigorous national exam, an accomplishment that comes with a special recognition: the Maureen O'Donnell Oxford Classical Dictionary Award.

Campbell said the years of studying Latin have provided her with many benefits.

"Although today Latin frequently gets dismissed as a 'dead language' and a relic of the past, I have found it to be anything but. Each of my Latin teachers at Ravenscroft — Ms. Girouard, Ms. Ramquist and Dr. Avery — challenged my classmates and me to look beyond the grammar and simple translation and instead to discover for ourselves how a strong grasp of Latin language, literature and culture enables us to become better writers, orators and historians," she said. "Moving forward, I know that I will encounter many more connections to Latin in everyday life (as I already have!), and that my Latin background at Ravenscroft will serve me well."

The strength of the Latin program at Ravenscroft means Campbell, who was the Class of 2020's valedictorian, is in good company.

"We typically have one or two students a year earn their fourth gold medal," Upper School Latin teacher Jonathan Avery said. "No one did it last year, but most recently Erin Pugh '19 and my daughter, Vivian Avery '19, did in 2018."

Campbell will attend Columbia University in New York City this fall. Congratulations and best wishes!