Junior Kathryn Portante is an aspiring classical archeologist who seeks a field of study specializing in ancient Roman culture. She spends her time fitting in her many extra-curricular activities some of which include ballroom dancing, horse riding, karate and studying Latin.
The Ghostwriter had the opportunity to sit down and interview Kathryn for our Student Spotlight series. Read the transcript below for our full interview.
Q: What is something others might not know about you?
A: I do ballroom dance club, I do equestrian club, I do museum club, Latin club, musicians club, and then I am also part of the 4-H saddle club. I ride horses and I am a part of the Westford Girls for Tomorrow which is a community service group that my girl scout group and I have created. I have a second degree adult black belt in Karate and I do cheerleading.
Q: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
A: Ten years from now I am hoping to have completed my PhD in classical archaeology and possibly have lived in Italy.
Q: Where are you planning on going to college for classical archaeology?
A: I’m still looking around but my top choices are The University of Cincinnati, UMass Amherst and possibly Boston University but I might consider that for grad school instead.
Q: How did you become interested in archaeology?
A: I’ve always been interested in archaeology in general. When I was between the ages of five and seven I took out books on ancient Egypt from the JV Fletcher Library and was obsessed with anything ancient and then I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be an archaeologist. But then I read about Jimmy Carter and he supposedly died because he was cursed from entering the tomb of King Tut. So seven year old me decided that ‘I am not going to be an archaeologist because I will die of a curse.’ Then in the past decade I’ve slowly rediscovered my love of Archaeology.
Q: Are you going to do anything in Egypt or just Italy?
A: Just Italy, I feel like it’s better to focus on Latin since I’m taking Latin already, and maybe learn some Greek as well.
Q: If you could have a meal with anybody, who would it be?
A: I’d have to say Sophia Loren. She’s one of my favorite old Hollywood actresses. One of [her] most iconic quotes is ‘Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.’ Which is iconic especially since I think she was voted the most beautiful women in the world at one point and to say that she loves carbs is iconic.
Q: What movie do you know Sophia Loren best from?
A: The one that I know is called the Sign of Venus, and I know it because I wanted to learn Italian because I wanted to watch it without the subtitles.
Q: Do you speak Italian well?
A: Not fluently but I can say ‘sono al verde’ which means ‘I am broke.’
Q: Did knowing Latin help you learn Italian?
A: Definitely, and sometimes even knowing Italian helps me with Latin.
