Menlo hosted the 2021 California Junior Classical League convention over Zoom during April 9-10, a two-day event held each spring for Latin students across the state. Each year, one school volunteers to host the convention for around 1,500 students on its campus. Even though the normal routine for planning and running the convention was altered due to COVID-19, the process also highlighted the strength of Menlo’s Latin community.

This year, seniors and convention co-chairs Sonia Agarwal and Ahna Kim were in charge of planning the convention. Their responsibilities included running weekly meetings with other Menlo JCL board members, figuring out how to adjust the convention for Zoom and overseeing all the participants and volunteers.

According to Upper School Latin teacher Dobbie Vasquez, hosting and planning the annual JCL convention allowed Agarwal, Kim and other students to utilize skills they’ve learned in many of their classes, not just Latin class. For example, computer programming was required this year to determine the placements for Open Certamen, a gameshow-style competition that is offered every year at the convention. The convention provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned at Menlo to real-life scenarios.

Although the CAJCL convention gathers Latin students from around the state, the purpose of the event is not entirely focused on Latin. While the convention does offer many Latin-themed tests and activities, there are many other opportunities revolving around sports, arts, music and drama. According to Vasquez, popular convention activities include Quidditch on brooms like in “Harry Potter,” Roman Speed-Dating, Rap-Battle, Cookie Decorating and Among Us (Apud Nos) where students could hang out and meet others at the convention. Vasquez believes this variety of activities contributes to the sense of community at JCL. “The convention rewards everyone for much more than Latin, and this is why I think JCL as an organization is so valuable,” Vasquez said. “The great part about JCL is [that] you may not be a great Latinist, but you might be good at chess or painting or volleyball or public speaking or leadership.”

According to Kim, preserving the convention’s friendly community in a Zoom setting originally appeared as a major obstacle. “When I helped out with the State Convention in 2018, which was also run by Menlo, I realized how involved everyone had to be to run the event successfully,” Kim said. “But this year, we were missing that visual and physical sense of togetherness.” 

However, on the days of the actual convention, Kim’s concerns faded as she noticed how similar the environment felt to previous years. “Despite the physical distance between us and the attendees, there was still a sense of community and spirit,” Kim said. In fact, Latin teacher Jennifer Jordt noticed that more people were able to attend the convention because it was online, which made it easier to access. “This was really a great opportunity to hear from some amazing, learned professionals in the Classics [whom students] may not have [had] the opportunity to hear from otherwise,” Jordt said.

The convention does not just form a community among Latin students throughout the state; it also strengthens the Latin community already present at Menlo. This year, many alums returned to help: Morgan Wyatt, Sophie Reynolds, Soda Hou, Aaron Morgan, Ethan Yan, Cami Gorospe and Victoria Wat (all ‘20), as well as Anna Guiragossian (‘19), Drew Wadsworth (‘17) and Sara Hadsell (‘95) attended in various capacities. Faculty past and present attended as well: Peter Brodie, Denali St. Amand, Holly Coty, Mark Clevenger and Corinne Chung joined the virtual convention. A number of Menlo alums also gave colloquia from around the world: Gina Closs and Sanaz Hariri (both ‘95), Lisa Rozakis Biton (‘03) and Rachel Howard (‘18). The word “colloquia” translates to “conversations” in English, and it refers to all the different presentations given during the convention. “State Convention was always the highlight of my year and helping out this year reminded me of all the fun I had playing Certamen, participating in spirit competitions and attending open forum,” Wat said. “The CAJCL spirit is so strong that even COVID can’t keep us apart.”

According to Agarwal, even though the convention was virtual, she still was able to make memories with her fellow JCL members. “All of the JCLers gathered from around California to spread their love for the Classics and make the event one to remember,” Agarwal said. From all reports, the event surpassed expectations.