To which classical figure do you most relate and why? The classical figure I most relate to is Catullus—he had such a great sense of humor. When did you know you wanted to be a classicist? I knew I wanted to be a classicist in the first Latin class I took. This was at Carolina and I was just about the luckiest student ever: my teacher was James May, now Dr. James May, who was wonderfully engaging and inviting. Who has been the most important mentor in your career? The most important mentor in my career is my current one. I’m currently working on a Ph.D. in Education Leadership; my dissertation chair has been my advisor now for three years and has helped me to see how I can support other educators (especially Latin teachers!) through thoughtful leadership. What book has been most influential to your career? The most influential book for me is The Aeneid. Every time I read it I find something new. What trend in Classical Studies do you see as positive? A positive trend in classical studies is the effort made by textbook companies to appeal to more diverse learners. What trend in Classical Studies do you see as negative? A negative trend in classical studies that I worry about is that we don’t have enough teachers graduating to replace us old folks in a few years. What book are you currently reading? I’m currently reading a very interesting book called Leadership For The Schoolhouse by Thomas Sergiovanni. It’s an excellent book for people who think teaching is more than just a job. If you could travel back to ancient Rome, what five items would you take with you from the present? If I could travel back to ancient Rome, I’d take deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, lotion. What can I say? I like to be clean! What is the best advice you have ever received? The best advice I ever received was indirect. My uncle once told me he envied what my husband and I do because we love our jobs so much and we make a difference every day. I was young and worried about how two teachers were going to make ends meet, but I’ve never regretted my choice to teach.

Camille Hedrick is a teacher at Potomac Falls High School. Camille is the winner of the Bronze Chalice award for her submission of Meet The Teachers. How would you like to be remembered? I teach both Latin students and future teachers. I want people to say I helped them find their way towards productive, happy lives. If it were possible, with whom, dead or alive, from the world outside of Classical Studies would you like to have dinner? I’d like to meet Ralph Waldo Emerson. He doesn’t always worry about transitions in his writings, so I think he’d be a spontaneous conversationalist. What law, rule, event, or custom from Classical times would you like to see reincarnated today? It would be difficult to choose the Roman law I’d most like reinstated. There are so many good ones. Beating those who insult you with a club, denouncing your father on his third attempt to sell you, maintaining ownership of your property as a female by vacating your home for a few weeks—how can I choose? What is one thing about Classical Studies you wished your students understood? The one thing about classics I wish my students could realize is how much better they are at understanding the way the world works because they have studied Latin and the Romans. The one thing I wish they could realize about teaching is how positively curious and enthusiastic students affect teachers. What is the most interesting thing in your car right now? The most interesting thing in my car right now is golf shoes. They don’t get much action. What would have you become if not a Classicist? If I hadn’t become a classicist, I’d be an archaeologist! If it were possible, with whom, dead or alive, from Classical times would you want to deliver your eulogy? If it were possible, Cicero would deliver my eulogy because of his eloquence. What five albums would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island? The five albums I’d want to have if I were stranded on a desert island are: Best hits of James Taylor, David Sanborn, Henry Mancini, Handel, and Garth Brooks. That covers most moods. When and where in the Classical World would you have liked to live? If I could figure out how to do it, I’d be living in ancient Pompeii right now.