Episode 2: Maxine Mandt

(upbeat music) - Sour Weight Day listeners, and welcome to the second episode of Lux Classica. Today, we are talking to Maxine Mant. Maxine has been a proud member of the Junior Classical League for almost a decade, since joining in 2017, Maxine has made her mark as a dedicated, spirited, and ever-reliable member of the JCL community. Whether she's volunteering at events, hyping up spirit competitions, or simply sharing her love of Latin with newcomers, Maxine radiates an infectious enthusiasm. Currently, Maxine is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Florida State University, majoring in Latin and minoring in education. After graduation, she plans to pursue a master of arts in teaching Latin. And throughout her JCL journey, Maxine is also held an impressive array of leadership roles. She started as her middle school Latin club president and continued to serve at the local level as her high school's historian, vice president, and then president. In 2019, she served as Florida's regional leader, and she was also the Florida Junior Classical League Vice President from 2020 to 2021. After graduating high school in 2022, Maxine quickly joined the Senior Classical League, where she's held both State and National Office. She's been Florida's Webmaster and President. She's also held National Office twice. First, as the National Senior Classical League's editor, and most recently, their vice president from 2024 to 2025. And now, Maxine currently serves as Louisiana's Senior Classical League Secretary. When it comes to convention, Maxine is all about energy. Her favorite parts of convention are that's entertainment and spirit competitions. And her favorite national convention is a close call between Miami in 2018 and Fargo in 2019. What Maxine loves most about JCL is a sense of community. She firmly believes that JCL is a space where everyone can belong and thrive. And as far as she's concerned, she's not going anywhere. Maxine plans to stay involved in the JCL for as long as she possibly can. And then we started off today's episode, basking her about her interest outside of the classical world. I mean, I'm a big reader, a big bookworm. I literally, like, well, I go to the gym and I bring a book and I read the book on the treadmill. Like, I am always with the book. I think I've read 60 books this year. Well, yeah. And then I love to crochet. I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy it. What kinds of things have you crocheted so far? I've done, like, the little, I've made, like, little round stuffed animals. Like, I think they're called, like, a mirrory or something. I've made coasters. I make a lot of coasters because it's just circles. And then I've attempted and given up on a couple of hats. Got it. Got it. Nice. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got introduced into classics, maybe, like, a general experience, or a specific experience? Well, I started taking Latin in fifth grade. It was the only option at our school. And my Latin teacher, she was super energetic, like, super passionate about it. It was really infectious. And I had loved, like, Greek myths. I loved the movie Hercules. And I was just, like, sucked in immediately. And then in seventh grade, we started talking about JCL. And I was like, I have to do this. Amazing. So that's what makes you want to get involved in the JCL? Yeah. Oh, OK. So that's definitely quite early start. When you started in middle school, could you tell from the very beginning that this was something you wanted to do in the long haul and that you wanted to step up in? I didn't have a lot of, like, friends in middle school. I'd definitely kept to myself. And then, like, I went to Florida, has regionals in addition to state. And I ended up placing on the myth exam at regionals. And then going to state and, like, seeing that's entertainment. And just, like, a bunch of people yelling in Togas. And I was like, there are, like, so many people across Florida who are like me and have the same interests as me, and it just, like, skyrocketed from there. That's amazing. So you went to your first regionals in seventh grade. Is that correct? Yes, in seventh grade. And so when did you first run for local leadership? I first ran-- I was appointed middle school president in eighth grade. And then I first ran after my-- like, at the end of my freshman year of high school, I ran for club vice president, which was fun. OK, then how was that? Was that like, oh, one of your friends suggested you to run? How was that transition into, oh, maybe this is a community that I want to step up and lead in? Well, when you go to state nationals and you see all the people, like, on stage in office. And I really, really, really wanted to be in office. And I had talked to some friends who were in high school or were holding office. And they were telling me, like, trying to decide with me, like, should I run for office, what office I wanted to be? And we ended up deciding on vice president, because I'm very spirited, very passionate about the JCL. And so I wanted to be club vice president and help lead their spirit. And as VP, I was partially in charge of my high schools annual Saturday party, which was really fun. So how did the transition go from local leadership to the regional, state, national level? Like, what kind of made you decide to move up the ranks in leadership? I just-- I loved it. I really loved it. It was just like the connections that you make, not only, like, as a board, like, getting to know that group of people for a year, but also, like, the connection to get to make as an officer with other JCLers is really cool, like, as state vice president, one of my jobs was to come up with the monthly service projects for Florida. And I had a group of regional leaders who helped me execute those projects during the year. And at my regionals, we had so many people come to the service project, and we did, like, the positivity rocks, the ones where you paint, and you put, like, the quotes on them. And I was able to just, like, talk to, wouldn't get to know so many different JCLers. And I decided to go for the national level in SCL for that same reason. I was a FSCL officer twice. I was wet master in president before I decided to run for national SCL office. And I ended up being appointed editor and made the convention ear at Knoxville. Well, that's awesome. Well, how would you say that the transition from JCL to SCL office went? Like, what do the mean differences you see between SCL and JCL office? Yeah. There are a lot of differences, honestly. Our elections are very, very different. Like in JCL, there's, you know, like, you can't pre-campaign, you have a certain amount of days, you have a budget. Like, it's very intense. I ran for FSCL office in 2020, so I did it all online, which I'm very grateful for because y'all are brave. That, especially in JCL candidates. Wow. But in SCL, it's much more lax. We have our own GAs during the JCLGA. And we have a general assembly that is election nominations. So you find someone to nominate you for an office. And then you give a little speech. And then the next day, we do a Q&A with the officers, or the candidates. And we start from president down to parliamentarian because the story of an editor appointed. And we have a separate application for those. And one by one, we do, like, the questions for president. We have the candidates go outside. We deliberate, and we vote. They come back in, and we say who won. And it's much more chill. There's really no campaigning at all. Wow. Yeah, very different. I prefer it. Yeah, gotcha. OK, so obviously, conventions mean a lot to you. And then I know you mentioned that's entertainment. Was there a specific performance or specific moment at some convention that's been your favorite memory so far? Oh, man. That is-- I have to think. I mean, my go-to is always my first convention, which was Troy in 2017. And I was my school's only national delegate. And I didn't really know anybody. And I went into the dining hall alone, sitting alone at one of the raised bar stools in the counter. And some random girl was frantically waving her arms above her head and trying to call me over. And she wanted me to sit with them. And she's become one of my closest friends. And that was nearly 10 years ago. So you're still friends with her today? I am still friends with her today. That's amazing. And it left really lasting impact on how I wanted to be for other JCLers. Yeah, that's amazing. So one really unique part of JCL is spirit. What does that mean to you personally? And what do you think it kind of does for the community? Why do you think it matters? I mean, spirit for me is not only a chance to represent your school or your state, but also just to get loud about the JCL in general. I've always had a lot of fun with spirit. I've enjoyed leading it. I've enjoyed being a part of it. And I think it's important that we have spirit competitions. I think that it builds morale and camaraderie in delegations. It's totally agree. Obviously you've had quite a long experience in the JCL. Has there been any challenges or roadblocks, any specific moments that might have discouraged you? And if so, what kept you motivated and helped you keep going? Yeah, that's-- [LAUGHS] Definitely. My bio, it shows a lot of offices. But it also doesn't show the campaigns that I've lost. I most recently, I ran for NSEO president and did not get it, which was old devastating. But it's knowing that the other candidate is great and knowing that the organization, whatever office you're running for, knowing that, regardless of how it turned out, that position and the organization is in good hands. When I was in JCL, I wanted to run for national office. I wanted to run for national second VP and did not get the nomination, which was also pretty hard. But once again, it's hard to lose. It's very hard to lose. I'm not going to pretend like it's not devastating. But at the end of the day, it's a matter of trying to find the positivity and not letting it determine how you feel about the JCL. Yeah, I think it's a really good outlook to have. So on a similar note, what kinds of lessons or habits from JCL may be like leadership, like running meetings, organizing events, rallying people? Do you find yourself using any of those skills you learned from JCL now or in other parts of your life? Yeah, I mean, I use them pretty much all the time. The JCL has made me a more outgoing person. I was very, very shy when I started JCL. Definitely leadership, especially in other clubs, and knowing how to run effective meetings and be a participant in either competitions or on a board and knowing how to give, like, especially as an officer, like giving effective feedback. And also just smaller things, like the amount of emails you write as an officer is insane. And I guess, like, the smaller things, like getting better to write it at writing emails or like knowing how to use Canva, because I use Canva all the time. That is so true. One personal anecdote I have is that my first year in JCL office, I sent over 14,000 words worth of email. Does that sound-- Yeah. --especially during COVID. Being a COVID officer, everything was over email. And last semester, I accidentally sent an email to one of my professors, and I opened with Solway. Oh my god, just like, I always opened my emails with that. I feel like all of us have done that at least once until you I have. So you're majoring in classics and minoring in education with plans for a master of arts and teaching Latin. Could you just tell us more about being a classics major? Yeah, it's not like for you. It's a lot of Latin classes. I'm specifically a Latin major, so I didn't take a lot of Greek. But if you love Latin, you love Greek, you love classics. You should definitely consider it. You get to take a lot of awesome classes, like here at FSU. Shout out Florida State. We have a great classics program. You should apply. I've gotten to take a lot of cool classes. A lot of the at least upper level, the 3,000, 4,000 level Latin classes, we usually focus on one author or one part of one work. Like this semester, I'm doing a class on living, and I'm doing a class on often. And you get to take Roman art and architecture, history of Greece. We had a capstone class, I think last semester, that was all about the BBC show I Claudius and talking about historical accuracies and inaccuracies there. And most classics departments are on the smaller side, and so you get to know a lot of people who are in your major, or a lot of grad students in what they're researching. I have some friends at FSU who are studying things like agriculture and Roman military history and coins. And it's really cool to get to know professors as well. And see what they've written, who they know. It's a lot of fun. If you really enjoy classics, you should really consider it. It's very, very fun. So is that a career path you took because of JCL? Like how was JCL shaped your career path? Yeah, it is definitely a path I've taken because of JCL. I have pretty much wanted to be a Latin teacher since eighth grade. We did a little-- I went to a K through eighth school. And so they treated the eighth graders like seniors, and they asked us what our favorite subject was and what we wanted to be when we grew up. And mine was like, Latin teacher. And just like, as you get older and especially in SCL, you become friends with so many of the Latin teachers. And being around them really has influenced me as well to continue wanting to be a Latin teacher. And I honestly couldn't see myself doing anything else. OK, so when you imagine yourself as a Latin teacher, how do you envision bringing that JCL spirit or community in your classroom? It helps that I want to teach high school. But I'm hoping to bring a lot of enthusiasm, either continuing or starting a JCL program, getting these kids, being students excited about not only Latin but classics in general. Like in middle school, we used to do our test review by playing Cretaman, which was really cool. And I definitely want to do that if I can acquire a quiz with her. Yes, they're so expensive. And they take like five years to ship. So like as a teacher or even before you become a teacher, what kind of advice do you think you would give to students who are just starting Latin? Maybe they've just started JCL or maybe they haven't joined JCL yet. They're like intimidated by joining. I would say for starting Latin, that remember that you're learning a new language in that you're not going to understand everything immediately, especially when you're just starting out. And that as you keep going, whether it's through Latin, one, or Latin, two, and so on, like the grammar that you're learning will start clicking together and to not get discouraged if you are confused. Yeah, that's really good advice. And then I guess we're starting JCL. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there, be yourself. I feel like it's huge. And also just in general, and my dad always said this to me, like, if you want to do something or like you want something, the worst somebody can say is now. And that has guided me a lot through running for office or deciding whether to try out for a crtoman team. Yeah, excellent advice. Do you have experience in crtoman? A little bit. I was never on Florida's state team, but I played locally. I did customs as my main subject. So yes, you know, I love that one. Yeah, it's the best. All right. So finally, our last segment is called "Colodyce and Tenti-I" or "Hot Takes" or "Apignans." In this segment, our guest vaccine will present a hot take to us. She will then explain to us the reasoning and logic behind the argument. Her goal is to cool down the hot take for us as much as possible. AKA, get us to agree with it. And at the end, we will give our ratings. Would you like to go ahead and tell us your hot take? So my hot take is that Anise is an absolute snooze fest of a character and a terrible protagonist for an epic. And there's a reason that we know the Homeric epic's better than we do, Virgil's. Ooh, tell me more. Well, so I feel like everybody knows the Iliad and the Odyssey. I had never heard of the Iniad until I was in Latin too. And I spent a whole semester-- last semester-- doing a class purely translating the Iniad. So I spent a lot of time with this guy, right? And there's a lot of reasons why I think Anise is just not as great of a character. And it feels like Virgil is taking this character who's supposed to be this big founder of Rome propaganda piece. And basically runs through a checklist of what the Homeric heroes did. Go on a long journey. Check, say on a place with a woman, check. Fight up a bunch of battles, check. Like, be in Troy, check. And there are different values between Rome and Greece. Anise is definitely more nation focused, more God's focused, compared to Odysseus, who's definitely focused more on individual achievements and being clever. But at least, especially in book four, which is where he spends most of his time in Carthage, it feels like most of the time he's either being puppeted by a God, or the gods are just doing everything for him, and he's just standing there. Halfway through book four, they have to come down and say, dude, you need to get out of here. And then he's like, I don't know. You know? Yes, yes. I feel like we also just don't get a lot of ambition out of Anise, compared to maybe Odysseus or Achilles. At least for me, it feels like he's pretty much getting dragged to Rome by everybody else around him. And then he's like, ta-da, we're here. Look at me. So what do we think of this? Are you ready to give a rating? Yes. I'm going to give it-- I'm going to give it an 8 out of 10. OK, that's good. OK, basically, I think that you explained it super well. And I didn't entirely disagree with it beforehand because, to be honest, I feel like there is a decent amount that you just don't see much about Anise as a character at all. But I think your explanation definitely added to it for me, because I kind of didn't have much of an impression of Anise at all, which kind of proves your point. But your explanation really hammers down the fact that he's just less interesting than you might think. And you seem knowledgeable on the topic, so that's really impressive. Thank you. I give your heart take a 6.8. And I think it's valid that you point out that he was carried by a lot of the people around him. And what he did seemed like just checking off the checklist. But I think it's important to notice the context of this and how Virgil's a Neid was meant as a propaganda for Augustus. And when he looked at it from that perspective, he wasn't necessarily meant to be this big protagonist for this insane epic and this very special character. But rather, more of a resemblance for Augustus and establishing the Roman values for the people. And I think in that perspective, the Neid very much did fulfill that purpose. So do you have any final thoughts, shout outs, or reflections to end off this episode? Guess my main thing is don't be afraid to put yourself out there and don't be afraid to try new things. You really never know what'll happen unless you try. And if you're a senior, take all 16 tests at Nationals to say that you took every single test. Well, thank you for joining us today, Maxine. Yes, thank you for having me. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)