“When I found out I had won the Texas State Junior Classical League (TSJCL) Middle School Latin Scholar of the Year Award, it honestly felt a little unreal.

The award is based on the decathlon, which is probably the hardest test TSJCL offers. The decathlon is ten of the toughest topics all integrated into one big test. It’s much harder than an individual test, as those are only five or ten questions instead of the decathlon’s hundred question test.

The test includes subjects like Latin grammar, Latin vocabulary, reading comprehension, Roman history, Roman life, ancient geography, Roman life and sometimes even Greek. There’s no hiding behind being good at just one thing.

In fifth grade, I heard the announcements talking about my school’s latin team and how they placed well at tournaments. So I decided to join Junior Classical League (JCL) in sixth grade thinking it was kind of cool. I definitely didn’t do amazing at first, but I went through past tests and studied specific topics like mythology or ancient geography to improve.

At the state convention, there were a lot of kids — at least a thousand. I knew it was competitive, but I wasn’t focused on beating one person. I just focused on getting a higher score. I didn’t stress because after practicing and competing so much, the information was just solid in my head.

When I found out I won, I was really excited. I told my Latin teacher, and she was really happy for me. It felt special because my friend won the same award the year before. He won the inaugural one, so it was kind of cool that we both won it. It kinda felt like we were starting a dynasty as I was only the second person to win it in history.

What surprised me about the experience was the pressure after winning. I felt like I had to perform well after winning the competition, and I feel like I have to maintain that success in high school now too. But on the positive side, they gave me a trophy, which was really cool, and I didn’t expect that. I’d definitely say it’s one of my biggest personal achievements.

TSJCL helped me a lot with Latin and English, especially with derivatives, which comes in handy as I take Latin at school. Personally, it helped me make friends and improve my speaking skills. I was also able to see how my community supports me, especially my Latin teachers, friends and my parents.

Winning the award taught me that if you work hard enough, you can do it. I hope this award isn’t the highest point, but more like a midpoint. I want to keep improving and accomplish much more by senior year. It’s a big motivator for me. I want to look back and see this not as the peak, but as the moment I realized how far I could still go.”