Classics Portfolio Final Reflection

Beginning this portfolio was a challenge. Not because I didn’t want to create the website or look back on my work and reflect on each item, but because unlike most other Classics seniors, the majority of my work in the major has been through various experiences relating to Classics, instead of assignments, presentations, or exams. Even though it was originally frustrating to have to branch out and look through each of my assignments in addition to internships and field experiences, in hindsight I truly believe that these experiences shape my time within the department, and even who I am as a student.

Looking back at my undergraduate career, I certainly did not take a traditional path into either of my majors. Entering my freshman year at American University and even dipping into my time at Skidmore, I didn’t have a singular clue as to what Classics was as a discipline. On my first archaeological field experience in Greece, many of my peers told me they were studying both Anthropology/Archaeology and Classics, and I became intrigued as to what my remaining two years could look like, if I began this course of study. These past three semesters have been a whirlwind in the department, but I’ve gained an immense amount of valuable information and learned so much about myself as a student with newfound academic interests, and also as who I am as a person, outside of academics.

As for the layout and design of my Portfolio, the design choices are purposeful, to show the reader who I am beyond just this webpage. I decided to order my portfolio items in chronological order, so readers can follow my progression through the Classics major. Beginning with my experiences, I decided to include three major ones that I felt grossly impacted my time as a Classics major. The field school I completed in Summer 2024, Excavating in the Aegean (with College Year in Athens) felt important to include, since it’s what started me on the journey of becoming a Classics major. Moving into the following fall, I included my final paper from Professor Abbott’s Rise of Athens course, which was titled “The Economic and Cultural Impacts of Slavery in Classical Athens.” This assignment was completed in my first semester taking Classics courses at Skidmore, so this felt like an important stepping stone within my portfolio.

In the spring of my junior year, I spent my semester with College Year in Athens again, and this is what the bulk of my portfolio comes from. I discuss my courses, field studies, and experience living in Athens in this section. Within this section, you’ll see work within two of the courses I took at CYA, and information about an internship I held. For my Archaeological Drawing course, the images you see represent a semester’s worth of learning about drawing techniques for various types of artifacts and are the best examples of my work in that course. For one other course I took that semester, Aegean and Ancient Greek Art and Archaeology, my final project was a poster presentation. I chose to create a poster about the House of the Masks at Delos, which highlights my interests in Aegean archaeology. My internship, held at the Athenian Agora through the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, was another pivotal point in my Classics journey that I wanted to highlight in my portfolio as well.

This semester, I’ve been working on my Capstone Project for the Classics major, which is still in progress, but I wanted to highlight this because it acts as the culmination of my time in the major. The extended research paper I’m completing, within the course Seminar in Latin Prose: Tacitus’ Agricola, has been weeks worth of research about my chosen subject. It has been greatly fulfilling to research a topic I’ve chosen and write something that will serve as a culmination of my Classics degree.

Looking back on my work hasn’t been the most comfortable feeling, but I’ve found it helpful to see how much I’ve grown over the past three semesters. Going through old papers and projects that I’ve completed made me self-conscious at points, because I always think that I could’ve done better work. Reflecting on what I could’ve done better within these assignments also will help me with future assignments that are similar, and has aided me in my graduate school applications as well. Submitting a sample of work has been on the forefront of my mind this semester, and this portfolio has helped me narrow down my choices for a potential graduate application writing sample.

My overall design choice for aesthetic and navigability purposes was to be as clean and simple as possible. Choosing a font with easy readability, colors that meshed well together, and easy menu navigation were important to me while designing my site. Starting with my homepage, this is the introduction to who I am, and what you can find on my webpage. I included a resume page, since my Classics work is very interwoven within my archaeology experiences. This allows readers to gain a sense of who I am professionally and academically beyond solely Classics, in addition to the steps I’ve taken to get where I am today. Above all, creating this portfolio has shown me that I can be proud of my work in the Classics major. Going through chronologically, I’ve been able to see the growth and independence in the work that I’ve created here at Skidmore and elsewhere, and I know I can take my work ethic and the knowledge I’ve gained from Classics into any other endeavors I will encounter in the future.