Students Compete at Classics Conference

By Andrew Mills

University School of Milwaukee sent its largest-yet contingent of 24 students and three chaperones to attend the Wisconsin Junior Classical League (WJCL) state convention in Madison, Wisconsin. The WJCL is a chapter of the National Junior Classical League, and seeks to promote classics and a better understanding of the modern world through the study of the ancient civilizations of ancient Rome and Greece. This year, that also meant braving freezing temperatures in Madison and a flooded hotel at 4 a.m. the first night of the convention. 

The conference focuses on academic and artistic contests, challenges of school spirit, certamen (reach for the top style questions), academic tests, and artistic contests, among many more events. An incredible 71 top-10 finishes were earned on tests like Latin Vocabulary, Derivatives, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Mottos, Ancient Geography and Literature, Roman History, and Greek Vocabulary and Derivatives, etc. 

The WJCL conference follows a week-long National Junior Classical League convention held in October 2025 at Miami University, which was attended by members of the Upper School Latin Club.

To spotlight a few of our Wildcats:

• Ayike Asiki ’29 brought home gold with a 1st place score in Memorized Oratory.
• Henry Birchall ’27 got 3rd place in Greek Derivatives and Vocabulary and 9th place in the Pentathlon. 
• Virgil Dawson ’29 brought home a 3rd place in Latin Literature as well as in Greek History, Literature, and Life.
• Ian Findlay ’27 took 5th place in Latin Vocabulary.
• Anand George ’26 secured 1st place in Greek History, Literature, and Life, 1st place in Memorized Oratory, 3rd place for his Roman Mosaic, and 4th place in Roman History.
• Ben Norman ’26 followed in 5th place for Roman History.
• Charles Slocum ’26 finished 2nd place for his Roman Mosaic, 3rd place in Memorized Oratory, and tied for 5th place in Roman History.
• James Reimer ’29 scored 8th place in the Pentathlon and 3rd place in Greek History, Literature, and Life.
• Ella Spankowski ’29 placed 5th in Greek History, Literature, and Life and 5th in the Colored Pencil Art contest.
• Francesca Sturino ’26 showed up for a 4th place finish in Memorized Oratory.
• Eshaan Vasudev ’26, elected WJCL president last year, ran the convention well with his fellow board members, despite the hotel flood and other complications. 
• Jason Vogel ’27 dominated the War Machine Contest with his epic Aegis shield and his incredible Trebuchet (Roman war machine), both securing 1st place.

Many thanks to the following club officers who helped to plan the trip to the conference: Eshaan Vasudev ’26, Anand George ’26, Read Tuttle ’26, Charles Slocum, Ben Norman ’26, Mia Lucke ’27, Aida El-Hajjar ’27, and Zain Alam ’28. Also thanks to Andrew Mills, for serving as sponsor and lead chaperone, and Upper School teachers Antonio Britto (English) and Yongyan Liu (Chinese) for serving as chaperones. 

Student attendees:

Zain Alam ’28, Ayike Asiki ’29, Henry Birchall ’27, Virgil Dawson ’29, Aristotle Dimitropoulos ’28, Sam Eason ’26, Ian Findlay ’27, Anand George ’26, Tyler Hickerson ’29, Kirstin Jonhera ’28, Siena Kailas ’29, Mae Lilly ’29, Abe Nash-Resnick ’26, Ben Norman ’26, Aneesha Rao ’29, James Reimer ’29, Manu Samantaray ’28, Charles Slocum ’26, Ella Spankowski ’29, Francesca Sturino ’26, Charles Tiefenbrun ’26, Read Tuttle ’26, Eshaan Vasudev ’26 (WJCL president), and Jason Vogel ’27.

About Andrew Mills

Andrew Mills has served as the Upper School Latin teacher at USM since 2024. He also serves as the faculty sponsor of the Latin Club at USM.