Wheeler JCL torch Wheeler JCL Torch September | Page 7

DESIGN 
Officer's
Minute
Ann-marie Abunyewa, GJCL secretary, sits down 
with us to answer our questions.
officers to help carry out all the
responsibilities for  state and national
conventions. I want to make sure that we
hold meetings every other week this year
in order to engage more people in the
club. Some of the activities I’m excited to
do are Roman recipes, the annual
Pumpkin Carving Contest, and our White
Elephant Gift Exchange.
How do you think your experiences with
Latin and Latin Club will help you with
your future plans?
I’m definitely planning on majoring in
Classics in college, so being greatly
involved in Latin and Latin Club will help
me transition into college. My
experiences in making new friends,
facing my fear of public speaking, and
leading a group of people have all, either
directly or indirectly, derived from my
interest in Latin, so I hope to use that to
my advantage as I finish my last two
years of high school and move into my
post-secondary education.
What do you like outside of Latin?
Academically, I generally enjoy all
subjects, particularly biology, chemistry,
and calculus (I would love calculus if I
were actually good at it). For leisure, I
enjoy volunteering, especially with my
friends; reading; listening to music;
coloring; and sleeping.
THE BREAKDOWN
How did you first become
interested in Latin? What do you
love about it?
I think what first drew me to Latin
was the fact that it was a dead
language with an extremely lively
legacy. It has such a deep impact in
our modern architecture, art,
literature, politics, government, and
language that many people don’t
realize. I mean, of co urse, I’ve
also always been an avid Percy
Jackson/Heroes of Olympus fan and
it helped that I had great Latin
teachers from the beginning, but 
Photograph by Emma Mason
 the influence that Latin has had on
our modern culture and its
interdisciplinary aspect contribute
most to the reason why I’m still
interested today and why I am so
enthusiastic about it. 
What are your hopes for the Latin
Club this year?
My main goal is to provide
members with the opportunity to
be more involved in Latin Club. I’m
super grateful that we have a
community (though a small
community) of members invested
in Certamen, and that we more 
DID YOU KNOW?
Tortilla Chips and Salsa was
designated as the Official State
Snack of Texas in 2003.
Between 1988 and 1992
households in the US buying
salsa increased from 16% to
36%. Sales of salsa overtook
Ketchup sales in 1991 (in terms
of dollar value). 
THE TORCH | 7