Lauren Chambers
BA, Classics
Digital Experience Manager, ANZ
"I decided to make Classics my major at Otago because it combines everything I am interested in: literature, history, languages, art, and mythology as well as architecture and archaeology.
"The Latin papers that I took, as well as the Words and Ideas course, gave me the knowledge and skills that I use every day as a web editor. Learning another language does wonders for your grasp of English; Latin has helped me immensely with English grammar and spelling. The Words and Ideas course increased my vocabulary and it is helpful in working out what new words mean. My minor was Linguistics, which built on how I thought about language and its use.
"Like many Arts students, I was constantly asked about the type of job I could get with a BA in Classics. I think that you can shape your degree to reflect your goals and make it work for you. The skills that I gained from my Classics degree helped me get into the competitive Whitireia Diploma in Publishing course in Wellington, which in turn got me my first job at the Parliamentary Counsel Office (the law drafting office) as an editor. Most people think that you need to study English or journalism to get into publishing, but I took a different path and think I am better off for it.
"A few years ago I spent three months in Europe and it was amazing to see everything I had studied in Classics come alive — the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Pompeii, the Parthenon and the Acropolis, the Theatre of Dionysos, as well as all the Classical art at the Vatican Museum and museums in the UK.
“This year I went back to Europe and this time explored the old Roman city directly under the Barcelona CBD, the Roman baths at Bath, and saw some incredible mosaics at Volubilis in Morocco.
"I find myself visiting the Classics Department website often. The desire to keep studying Classics will probably never go away.”