Student from The Meadows first to earn five gold medals on National Latin Exam
June 14, 2014 - 6:08 pm
Don’t be surprised to hear 18-year-old Divya Ramakrishnan unconsciously pepper her conversation with terms such as “cum grano salis” (with a grain of salt) and “suum cuique” (to each his own).
“And, before taking a really hard test, I tell my Latin teacher, ‘nos morituri te salutamus’ (We who are about to die salute you),” said the recent graduate of The Meadows School, 8601 Scholar Lane, “although I know it’s a bit melodramatic.”
Ramakrishnan has perhaps earned the right to dispense such phrases so easily as the first student in Nevada history to earn five gold medals on the National Latin Exam.
More than 100,000 national and international students take the exam each year, with only a few dozen achieving gold medals. In fact, three of Ramakrishnan’s gold medals were for perfect scores. She was awarded a special book prize for her efforts: “The Oxford Guide to Classical Literature.”
Her first perfect score occurred the first year she took the test in seventh grade. The feat was her first time getting a perfect score on any nationally administered test. The second perfect score came when she was in ninth grade and the third when she was in 10th grade.
“In grades eight and 11, I was off from a perfect paper by just one question,” Ramakrishnan said. “Urgh, I was so frustrated.”
Her high school Latin teacher Sherry Jankowski said Ramakrishnan was a standout student.
“Her appreciation for the classical world stretches beyond just grammar; she is very well-versed in history, art, and mythology,” Jankowski said. “I never cease to be amazed at what she accomplishes.”
The National Latin Exam in years one through four tests grammar, culture, history and reading comprehension. The fifth-year test is reading comprehension. The students have no idea which authors they’ll encounter, have no access to a dictionary and have only 40 minutes to answer 40 questions. About 350 students take the test each year in Nevada.
The study of Latin is required in seventh grade at The Meadows School. The class is optional in high school, but Ramakrishnan chose to pursue it to satisfy her four-year language requirement.
“Ultimately, I chose Latin because of all the extracurricular activities it offered — for example, the JCL (Junior Classical League),” she said. “I fell in love with JCL as soon as I had my first convention, so I decided to stay with Latin. Through JCL, I meet so many diverse people, and I get to talk with a lot of people who are equally passionate about Latin.”
Ramakrishnan said her knowledge of Latin helps her in other classes, and besides, “Latin captures in a couple of words what takes forever to say in English.”
She plans to study molecular biology at Stanford University, with a minor in Latin and ancient Greek, with the goal to become a genetics researcher and do clinical work as a neonatologist.
“Everybody thinks that Latin is a dead language,” Ramakrishnan said. “But that’s not really true. We use Latin in our daily lives. Like, when I volunteer at Summerlin Hospital, I see the acronym N.P.O. on some patients’ doors. This means that the patients cannot drink or ingest anything. It stands for the Latin phrase ‘Nihil per os,’ which means ‘Nothing through the mouth.’ … it’s actually very alive.”
Contact Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.