The National Latin Exam Award ceremony was hosted on May 4th, in the Malden high auditorium. Many students from the Latin classes, taught by Julie Snyder all came together to celebrate the students who have achieved higher than the average test scores.
Students who have received an award all were proud of their work. Junior Michelle Nie, who received a Magna Cum award states that she “signed up for the Latin exam to see how [her] knowledge has improved”. Nie has been taking the Latin Exam since her freshman year. Nie states that the Latin III test she took was “very overwhelming” because it included the topics of Latin I and Latin II exams combined. Nie states that the passion and dedication of all the students helped allow for a great ceremony with a lot of awards given out to students.
Freshman Billy Zeng, who received a Summa Cum Laude believed that taking latin was a “great way to challenge [himself] and possibly learn something new”. Zeng believes that it is important to take latin because many languages like “English derive from Latin words”, and learning latin would help you identify English words you have never heard before.
The purpose of the NLE is to praise students that do well on the Latin Exam. Nie states that “the Latin Awards is the perfect opportunity to congratulate and show students that their hard work is being acknowledged and appreciated.” Julie Snyder, the Latin teacher is very proud of her students and looks forward to hosting the awards next year.
Advice from the students who have won awards, stated by freshman Ayman Boudrari, who won the Cuam Lade award, is to not quit latin after the first year, and to stick to the language because it would be beneficial in the long run. Zheng states to not be “discouraged” if you don’t succeed the first year and to continue your journey.
