MSCCA Previous Recipients

2012 - Mahmoud Akeen Samori  In the summer of 2012 the generous funding provided by the APA’s Minority Scholarship in Classics and Classical Archaeology allowed me to participate in the Columbia University’s stratigraphic excavations of the Villa San Marco in ancient Stabiae as well to attend the 14^th Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Graecae et Latinae in Berlin.  As an aspiring ancient historian these experiences were invaluable for me.

At Stabiae our team, consisting of graduate and advanced undergraduate students from Columbia as well as students from the Freie Universität of Berlin and the Università degli Studi del Molise, conducted the second season of stratigraphic excavations at the Villa San Marco as part of Columbia’s Advanced Program of Ancient History and Art.  The program consisted of four weeks of excavations, weekend field trips to other sites in the Vesuvian area (Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the villas Arianna and Oplontis), and seminars on historical, art historical, and archaeological subjects concerning ancient Campania and the history of its investigation.  The work was exhausting and amazing.  The training in taking measurements, drawing plans, using trowels, axes, and shovels, handling finds, and interpreting the relationships between various stratigraphical was priceless as was learning to how archaeologists approach historical questions and decide where to excavate.

After the excavation I went with one of my teammates to the Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Graecae et Latinae, staying in Berlin for a week a German students who had dug with us at Stabiae.  Being exposed to such an international society of scholars at the Congressus was a truly inspiring experience.  I left the conference with a newfound excitement for the possibilities of digital epigraphy and a desire to broaden my epigraphic studies, which had previously focused on Italy, to extend to the bilingual inscriptions of the Anatolia and the epigraphic remains of ancient Egypt.

My experiences this summer working and studying alongside professional scholars were invaluable and have brought new energy to my studies while fueling my aspiration to become a professional historian.  My deepest gratitude goes to the APA for allowing me these opportunities and I look forward to continuing to engage with the scholarly communities I have had the privilege of working with for many years to come.

2012 - Nicole Gonzalez   This summer I used the scholarship that I received from the APA Minority Scholar to participate in an excavation in Crete, Greece. From mid-June to the end of July I excavated with a team of students from Brock University, Wilfrid Laurier University and Trench Master Lee Ann Turner at the site of Gournia. Gournia was first excavated by Harriet Boyd Hawes in 1901 through 1904. She excavated the center of the Minoan town, revealing cobbled streets, houses, a central court, a palace and a cemetery. Of all the Aegean sites on Crete, Gournia is the best site to see what a Late Bronze Age town looked like. I had the opportunity to excavate room 16 located in the palace. Most of the season focused on excavating the site, while others surveyed the site for next year. We produced quite a bit of pottery, some of which had very intricate designs, and stone tools. The pottery that was found in the destruction debris dated to Late Minoan 1B and everything below that dates to Late Minoan 1A.  I also had the privilege of going to other sites, museums, and beaches on the island such as Zakros Minoan Palace, Malia Minoan Palace, Phaistos, Knossos, Karfi, Mount Juchtas, Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Via, Agia Triada and a few sites on top of mountains. Not only did this excavation teach me a lot and prepare me for future excavations but it was an unforgettable experience. 

2011 - Trisha J. Tolentino  This past summer, I used the funds I received from the AIA/APA Minority Scholarship to participate in excavations in Cyprus and Macedonia. From late July to early September, I excavated with a team of students and archaeologists affiliated primarily with the University of Edinburgh at the site of Prastio-Mesorotsos. Prastio has consistently proved itself to be one of the most interesting sites in western Cyprus, if not the whole of Cyprus itself, because it has evidence of cultural material from virtually every period of human occupation, starting from the Neolithic all the way up to its abandonment during modern times in the 1950’s following an earthquake. This season’s work focused mostly on excavations and a brief period of survey, and the trench I worked in showed clear evidence for multi-period inhabitation, at least during prehistoric times.

After digging in western Cyprus for five weeks, I finished off the season by returning to the place where I attended my first field school at the site of Stobi, in the Republic of Macedonia. I chose to dig here last year for my first field school because my interest in Roman provincial archaeology in the Balkans and Central European region, and Stobi proved to be an excellent site with remains from Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine periods. 

2011 - Sarah S. Malik took an upper-level Latin class at the CUNY Summer Institute

2010 - Mario Morales took an intensive Latin class.

2010 - Timothy Castillo: This past summer I was able to take a summer intensive course in Greek at the University of Texas at Austin. I had just graduated with a B.A. in Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Trinity University back in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas. I had developed an interest in Classics by chance, really. One semester I had room for an elective in my schedule, and I decided to take Latin. “It would be good for me,” I thought at the time. After two semesters of experience with the culture and a few encouraging talks with my professor, I just knew that this was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In the following semesters, I took as many Classics course as I could in order to fulfill the major by the time I graduated. Unfortunately with the way the language courses were scheduled at Trinity, I was unable to get much experience with Greek. Given that I wanted to study Classics at the graduate level, this presented a problem. I decided to take the summer intensive course at the advice of one of my professors. The problem here was the simple matter of a few thousand dollars. Through the APA scholarship, I was able to pay for the majority of the tuition costs at UT-Austin. It was intense, to say the least, but I’m really glad I went through it. We read Herodotus, Lysias, Homer, Euripides, and Plato, and to be able to do that over the course of a single summer is quite an experience. I’m really thankful I was able to have that experience. I’m now pursuing my M.A. in Classics at Tulane University in New Orleans and keeping pace with the other students in my graduate level Greek course. After I’m done here, I plan on getting my Ph.D in Classics in the hopes of becoming a college professor.

2009 - Manuel Andino: My time with the six-week Classical Summer School Program at the American Academy in Rome was a delightfully enriching experience that I will treasure forever. It was an honor to be among some of the brightest minds in Classics, from teachers to graduate students to full professors. The course was more than an in-depth focus on the archaeological, historical, and epigraphic world of the ancient Romans. It was also an opportunity to meet with other classicists with varied fields of interest, who helped enhance my understanding of the ancient Roman world. We began with the foundation of Rome and the Etruscan influence, visiting many sites such as the huts of Romulus, and places in Etruria. We learned of the various types of masonry employed in Roman construction, such as ashlar, tufa, and the multiple forms of marble. We trekked through all kinds of difficult terrain, with the hot sun blazing, yet we all woke up each morning with a surplus amount of energy excited to learn what new wonders were awaiting us.

2008 - Issis Palomo: My interest in Classics began in ninth grade when I took Latin, and later expanded to the ancient world in general when I took an art history class the following year. In addition to the almost mathematical precision of the Latin language, I was fascinated by the slides of ancient temples, cuneiform tablets, and long-lost cities that out teacher showed the class. Currently, I am majoring in Classics at Columbia University, and will attend Summer Session I of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. There I hope to expand my knowledge of Greek culture and language by having the immediate, hands-on experience of visiting archaeological sites around the country and living in Athens for six weeks. After graduation, I plan to pursue further study of Classics, as well as of Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations.

2008 - James McCaffery: As an aspiring classicist at Brooklyn College, I have been able to pursue a connection to the ancient world through its history and language. My study of and passion for Greek and Latin convinced me to pursue an undergraduate degree in Classics, and have dedicated myself to developing not only a mastery of the languages of the ancient world but an understanding of the culture of another world.

It is my intention to focus my studies not only on understanding the great movements of history, but the experience of the individual in his day-to-day life. I believe there is as much merit in experiencing the past on the smallest scale as there is in understanding the most significant historical events. To this end I have focused much of my undergraduate work to the study of ancient sexuality, religion, and household life.

After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I intend to continue my graduate studies and eventually pursue a PhD in the field of classical studies. This scholarship affords me an invaluable opportunity to study at the Classical Summer School at the American Academy in Rome, enabling me not only to study in the heart of the Empire itself but to study alongside the youngest and brightest graduates and instructors in the field.

2007 - Krystel Khalid: My passion for studying the classical world began when I took my first Latin class in high school. As an entering freshman, I was uncertain of what the study of Latin entailed, but I eventually discovered a genuine passion for it. This interest in the classical world led me to pursue my undergraduate degree in Classics at UC Davis.

Since I have studied classics at the university level, while pursuing a double-major in cultural anthropology, I have become greatly interested in the anthropological aspects of the ancient world as well. I hope to center much of my graduate studies in Roman poetry and comedy, while focusing on aspects of society such as the cultural constructions of gender, the characterization of "the other," and the ancient institution of slavery.

After completing my Master's Degree in classics, I hope to be able to pursue a PhD in classical archaeology, as I feel that it would best combine my passion for classics and anthropology. In order to make the transition from a classical literature program to an archaeology program, I know that I need to thoroughly prepare myself, and participate in archaeological programs abroad. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to be involved in an excavation in Romania this summer, at the Tropaeum Traiani site; the award has enabled me to gain access to an opportunity I would not have otherwise had, an opportunity that I hope will provide the foundation for a strong training in classical archaeology.

2007 - Christopher Bravo: My major at the University of Southern California was Classics, with a minor in Psychology. My favorite areas of study are the Hellenistic Mediterranean, Interactions between Ancient Greece, and the "Other."

Classics offers a rare insight into a world thousands of years before our time, which in itself is very intriguing. But more than anything, I believe the study of Classics is an attempt to recreate a world that while similar to our own, is in many ways very different. Trying to understand both these similarities and differences is what has grabbed my full-interest as a student.

My most immediate goal is to attend graduate school and eventually obtain a Ph.D. in Classics. After that, my ultimate goal is to become a renowned researcher and inspiring teacher in the field.

2006 - Chika Okoye (Hunter College of CUNY): I attended the summer program of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens' Summer Program. I am finishing my degree in Classics at Hunter College and plan to apply to graduate programs for next fall.

2006 - Anna Gonzalez (University of Texas at Austin): With my scholarship I pursued a directed study at Pergamon Museum in Berlin and studied intensive German at Goethe Institute. I am currently working full time as an Administratie Associate in the Offic eof Sponsored Projects (i.e. grants) at U.T. I plan to teach for a year in high school and then apply to graduate schools.

2005 - Ada Chiaghana (Baylor University): I attended the Baylor in Italy Program. Then I tranferred to the University of Southern California, where I am a junior. My major is Classics.

2004 - Amanda S. Kimura (Creighton University): I attended the American Academy in Rome's Classical Summer School and am now a fourth-year graduate student in Classics at the University of Texas-Austin.

2003 - Albertus Gerhardus Almeida Horsting (The University of Chicago): I attended the Intensive Summer Intermediate Latin Program at the University of Chicago. I was enrolled in the Graduate School at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor but now have transferred to Nortre Dame University, where I am in the program of early Christian studies.

2002 - Allyssa Lamb (University of Washington): Attended Summer courses at the University of Washington, where she earned a B.A. in Classics and a BA.A in Ancient and Near Eastern Studies, 2004

2004 Rhodes Scholar

M.Phil. in Egyptology, Oxford, 2006

Now working on doctorate at University of Chicago.

2002 - Michael Thomas (Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern State University): I attended the Intensive Greek Program at theUniversity of California-Berkeley and then took the University of Pennsylvania Post-Baccalaureate Program in Classics. I received an M.A. from Northern Illinois University in Philosophy.

Now I am a doctoral student at the University of Chicago on a five-year fellowship in Philosophy and the Committee on Social Thought.

2001 - Yasuko Taoka (Grinnell College): I took the SUNY-Brockport's Mythological Study Tour in Greece and am now attending Ohio State University.

2000 - Emily Claire Jusino (College of William and Mary): I attended the College Year in Athens Summer Program. I received an M.A. in Classics from University of Chicago, where I am now working on my doctorate in Classics. My special interests are in Classics and Theater.

1999 - Leshawn Smith (Baylor University): I attended the Baylor in Italy program directed by Alden Smith and Timothy Johnson.

1998 - Cecelia Hernandez (UCLA): I attended UCLA's Greek History program in Greece directed by Professor Mortimer Chambers.

1997 - Rachele Fisher (University of Oklahoma): Studied in Egypt under Professor Rufus Fears.

1996 - Kattai Pfeiffer Barrow (Loyola University New Orleans): I studied at the CUNY Greek Institute and received my MA in Classics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

1995 - Emily Tse (University of Pennsylvania): I studied Stylometrics of Latin prose at UCLA with Bernard Frischer, worked on the Philodemus project, won the Pearson Prize, and attended graduate school at Cambridge University.

1994 - Matthew Gonzales (University of Texas-Austin): I studied at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and then earned doctorate in Classics from the University of California at Berkeley. Now I am an Assistant Professor of Classics at St. Anselm College and a member of the Minority Scholarships Committee.