Third APIDA in Classics Event
You’re invited to our third APIDA in Classics Event!
We invite high school students interested in Classics, particularly those who identify as APIDA (Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and/or Desi American), to register for this free virtual event on Saturday March 7, 2026, 1pm PST/4pm EST. The meeting will be held on Zoom.
Registered participants will have the opportunity to engage with our panelists at all different levels of education and answer questions about studying Classics, being an APIDA Classicist, and any other questions you might have!
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/Y24KdkYDxkxEQV737
Meet our panelists:
Grace Curcio has taught Latin at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco since 1998, instructing students at all levels from Latin 1 through AP Latin and beyond. She earned a B.A. in Classical Civilizations with a minor in Music from UC Davis (1993) and an M.A. in Classical Civilizations, Latin emphasis, from UC Santa Barbara (1998). Since 2021, Grace has served as an Instructional Coach, supporting new SI teachers in their professional development. Grace’s favorite authors are Vergil and Ovid, particularly the Aeneid. Grace served as CAJCL Certamen Chair from 2012 to 2016 and has co-moderated the SI Junior Classical League since 1998. She has also served as moderator for various student organizations, including the Asian Students Coalition, the school newspaper Inside SI, and currently the Crochet and Sewing Club. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting clothes and baby items for friends' children.
AAACC: If you could have dinner with one classical figure (historical or fictional), who would it be, why did you choose this person, and what meal would you share?
GC: What a great question! I would want to have dinner with Atalanta. She got out there with the boys and did her thing. And, she actually named her terms for who would get her hand in marriage. I know, Aphrodite tilted things, but still. For dinner? Grilled pork chops with mashed potatoes and asparagus. And for dessert, apple pie, naturally.
Kevin Wong grew up in Singapore, where the Classics didn’t have much of a presence in school. He had a late first encounter with the Classics only as an undergraduate student at Yale-NUS College and the National University of Singapore, where he completed Bachelor's degrees in both Law and Literature. Choosing to pursue the more interesting of the two paths, he went on to study for a Master's in Classics at the University of Oxford, and is now working on a PhD in Classics at Harvard University.
His research and teaching builds upon a lifelong preoccupation with online gaming and fantasy fiction, exploring the reception of ancient Greece and Rome across video games and other new media. He is currently teaching an undergraduate seminar on reception in contemporary media, as well as writing a dissertation on the imaginative function of ancient epic throughout the (much more recent) development history of online gaming.
AAACC: If you could have dinner with one classical figure (historical or fictional), who would it be, why did you choose this person, and what meal would you share?
KW: I've always thought that Ovid would have been a great conversationalist. His humor, wit, and insightful takes on culture resonate with me. I'd probably take him to get some boba.
Shannon Mayo is a second year MA student in Classical Philology at the University of Arizona and received their BA from UC Santa Barbara in Classical Civilizations. They are keenly interested in the relationship between literature and imperialism and in building strong community bonds within the field. Outside of Classics, they enjoy car shows, listening to music, and spending time with friends.
Ella Mui Shonk is a 4th year undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, double-majoring in Greek & Latin and Linguistics, and minoring in Creative Writing. She loves studying Greek & Latin, both for their intrinsic qualities and for the community she’s found in them at her high school, college, and across California.
Ella began studying Latin in her Freshman year of high school, thinking it was simply a unique opportunity and might eventually help her when studying medicine. But, with Latin, she realized she loved learning how different languages convey meaning and hold history. This led her to study Ancient Greek the summer after her Freshman year of college, and eventually pursue Greek & Latin and Linguistics as her majors.
She is currently an undergraduate research apprentice at the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri – where she catalogs and preserves papyrus, and performs outreach to middle schoolers. She is also President of the California Senior Classical League – where she, along with the rest of the CASCL board, coordinates college students and graduates volunteering at conventions for secondary school students interested in Classics (CAJCL events).
In her free time, Ella likes to hang out with friends, write poetry and prose, watch movies, and sew.
AAACC: If you could have dinner with one classical figure (historical or fictional), who would it be, why did you choose this person, and what meal would you share?
EMS: I would have dinner with Horace! Of all the Latin poetry I've read, his are my favorites -- so hopefully we would get along, or at least have interesting conversation. I would suggest we have some kind of gnocchi or fried rice, and see if I can change his mind about garlic.
