Although Nathalie McDaniel was surrounded by over a thousand high school students at the National Junior Classical League convention, she was completely alone. In 2023, McDaniel was the only St. John’s student there, while she nervously stood in the crowd, scanning for a welcoming face.

That was until a vaguely familiar-looking person asked, “Didn’t I play Open Certamen with you at State?” After a few minutes of reintroduction, the girl, from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin, invited McDaniel to spend the next week hanging out with her friend group. That experience from three years ago inspired McDaniel, now a junior, to keep attending JCL.

“This small invitation inspired me to embrace the JCL community and make friends, something the socially-awkward part of myself would have never done,” McDaniel said. “Now, I have made friends all over the country.”

The Junior Classical League, founded in 1936, is an organization for middle and high school students that promotes Classical antiquity, or interests in the language, studies and culture of both ancient Greece and Rome. McDaniel was first introduced to TSJCL in seventh grade by Latin teachers David Frauenfelder and Zachary Flowerman. 

Frauenfelder serves as a sponsor for the JCL club, alongside Latin teacher Sergios Paschalis, where he both chaperones students and promotes the trilogy he wrote.

I’ve written novels for teens having to do with Latin and Ancient Rome, and I sell the books at conventions to raise funds for our local clubs,” Frauenfelder said. “It’s fun to discuss with them what it’s like to be an author and to sign the books they buy.”

On campus, around 70 students participate in JCL competitions. These competitions include Area, State and National conventions that take place throughout the year. Last year, Bellaire High School hosted the State Convention, where junior and JCL Club leader Aurelia Shaitelman helped organize the event as a convention coordinator. She planned Classical Civilization and academic contests, food catering and hotel reservations for competitions in the state of Texas.

“The approximately 1100-person competition for the state of Texas is the biggest chapter in the entire NJCL,” Shaitelman said. “Our convention is actually bigger than the national convention in terms of the people who attend.”

This past year, Shaitelman served as a webmaster, which put her in charge of communications for the state JCL board. Similarly, McDaniel also serves on the State Board as a secretary where she sits in on every board meeting and takes the minutes. McDaniel especially enjoys the diverse range of competitions that JCL hosts throughout the convention 

“As a competitive person, I was immediately intrigued by the opportunity to participate in a competition for a class I have always wanted to take,” McDaniel said.

JCL conventions offer more than just competitions. They offer workshops and evening socials. McDaniel and Shaitelman have participated in a widespread number of events, ranging from sports, such as volleyball and track, to written exams on mythology. 

“For the exams, my studying really depends on whether I have a competition that week,” Shaitelman said. “If I have a competition, I could be studying anywhere from six to 10 hours. But, if I don’t have a competition, I’ll study for only an hour or two.” 

At the State convention in mid-April, the middle school won Certamen, a Latin version of Quiz Bowl, and also received second place in the entire convention.

Frauenfelder has been taking students to JCL for the past nine years. When Latin was mandatory throughout middle school, St. John’s held a decade-long winning streak as champions of the Houston conventions. For Frauenfelder , the highlights of JCL include getting to spend time with a big contingent of colleagues who share his interests and challenges as a teacher. 

“I am really proud to be a sponsor of the incredible Latin students who join JCL. It is all about laughter, friendly competition and bonding over goofy, nerdy fun with people who love it as much as you do,” Frauenfelder  said. “To paraphrase an old commercial about the Peace Corps, it’s the toughest job I’ve ever loved.”