EAST BRUNSWICK – Isabel Velarde of East Brunswick has won the second prize in a national competition for high school students.
The contest was sponsored by “Eiodolon,” an online classics journal. The topic was “If you could bring back one figure (historical or mythical) from classical antiquity to advise our politicians, who would it be and why?”
“I wrote my article on Cloelia, a young Roman girl whose bravery helped establish the Roman Republic,” Velarde, who will graduate from Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung in June, said in a statement prepared by the school. “In my essay, I wrote how her bravery and tenacity would make her a suitable political advisor for today’s politicians. In my Latin class, we did some extensive research on Cloelia – some of my classmates even put on a very funny skit about her life and her story. I essentially gained my inspiration for my essay in Latin, both through the readings that we did and through the humorous performances.”