A Classics student and researcher who combines philology, thoughtful historical analysis, and computational methods
to recover, interpret, and elucidate the voices of the ancient world.
I am a senior at the University of Florida studying Classics and computer science, intending to pursue a PhD in
classics after I graduate. I grew up in Cocoa, Florida, only a few minutes from the Kennedy Space Center. I first learned
to love classics as a high-schooler through Certamen, a Classics-themed Quizbowl, and I now spend many afternoons
volunteering as a Certamen coach. When I'm not reading Latin grammar textbooks or Homer's Iliad, you can find me
baking, painting, or reading novels.
Research Interests
My research interests fall under a few broad categories: the expressions of
and reactions to female intelligence or literacy in Greco-Roman culture, the development
of meaning through Ancient Greek and Latin grammar, and the use of digital humanities
in the broader field of Classics.
Department of Classical Studies, University of Florida
Time Affiliated
May 2025 – PRESENT
Context
The eleven poems associated with Sulpicia, some of the only surviving Latin poems by a
Roman woman, remain a central mystery and debate of Augustan literature. Some argue all
are the genuine work of a woman named Sulpicia, while others attribute them to Tibullus,
a poet whose book contains the Sulpician elegies. Others still divide the poems, positing
some were written by Sulpicia and others by an anonymous auctor de Sulpicia.
Research Focus
This study approaches the disputed authorship in a new way, distinguishing between conscious
stylistic differences, which can be imitated, and unconscious stylistic differences, which
are difficult to alter and therefore suggestive of a different author.
To study conscious style, this paper examines specific syntactical constructions and
phrasings in Tibullus (Books 1-2), Sulpicia, and the auctor. The analysis supports the
established view that Sulpicia’s poems display unusually complex syntax compared
to Tibullus. It further identifies several grammatical patterns that are constructed
differently in Tibullus, Sulpicia, and the auctor.
Meanwhile, to study unconscious hints of
authorship, this paper borrows a concept from stylometry: the study of most-common words in
texts as a marker of authorship. Analysis of the results from a Python program
created for this task suggest that Sulpicia’s dominant vocabulary diverged significantly from
Tibullus and the auctor, while the auctor’s vocabulary differed minimally from Tibullus.
These findings suggest that the poems traditionally attributed to Sulpicia reflect
both conscious and unconscious patterns distinct from Tibullus.
Project Responsibilities
I completed all of the scholarly review, wrote the two Python programs used for syntactic
analysis, translated all the relevant works, organized and collected data, and wrote
the paper of findings.
Research Project
Her Words, His World: A Computational and Philological Study of Powerful Female Discourse in Roman Epic and Tragedy
Principal Investigator
Ellie Riggs, Dr. Flora Iff-Noel
Institution & Department
Department of Classical Studies, University of Florida
Time Affiliated
May 2026 – PRESENT
Context
Rome in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E. was marked by monumental
shifts in governmental structure, major social tensions,
and an unparalleled abundance of primary sources. Roman women began to feature
more prominently in politics, as marriage laws granted them greater independence and early
Empresses started playing an important role in government. However, very few sources were
actually written by women. They are short, of disputed authorship, and do not address the
increasing roles of power for women. The lack of sources representing this important
perspective hinders scholars’ ability to carefully understand and interpret this crucial
time period.
Research Focus
This multi-disciplinary project will combine my background in translating and interpreting
Roman primary sources with my experience in computer science to analyze the discourse of two
powerful women in the literature of the late Roman Republic and early Empire.
I will study female discourse within the male-written literature of the late Republic and
early Empire as a possible proxy for powerful feminine voices of the time. Two literary
characters stand out in particular: Dido and Medea. Unlike many female figures who appear
briefly or symbolically, Dido and Medea are granted extended, rhetorically complex speech
across multiple genres, making them especially well-suited for comparative linguistic
analysis. Their prominence as characters is no coincidence. In their fictional stories,
Dido and Medea were members of the ruling class who held great political sway, and both
were lovers of the hero-king: in short, each can be easily viewed as a literary representation
of the new roles for women in this time.
In Seneca’s Medea, Vergil’s Aeneid, and Ovid’s Heroides, I will focus on the first-person
speeches of Medea, Dido, and the male characters around them. This will highlight differences
between male and female language in each text, as well as differences among the texts.
Using Python programs that analyze Latin texts comparatively, I will identify differences
in low-frequency and high-frequency vocabulary and selected syntactic patterns (e.g. dependent
clauses, sentence length, conjunctions). I will then conduct a philological analysis focused
on stylistic features not easily recorded by computational methods (unusual verb tenses,
figurative language, literary allusion, rhetorical features). I will allow each methodology
to inform the other, adding new programs and further analyzing dialogue based on the initial
results from each approach.
By analyzing how Dido and Medea construct and convey authority in their discourse,
I will clarify how male authors acknowledge the growing influence of women through their
representation of female speech. Even filtered through the male perspective, this can help
scholars understand how real Roman women may have exercised and maintained power
through language.
Project Responsibilities
I completed all of the scholarly review, will write the Python programs used for syntactic
analysis, will translate all the relevant works, organize and collect data, and write
a paper summarizing research for publication.
Coursework.
Major
Classical Studies: Ancient Language Track
Minor
Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Selected Language Coursework
Ancient Greek Comedy — GRW6317
Latin Prose Composition — LAT6425
Greek Orators — GRW4700
Pliny the Younger — LNW3930
Roman Poets: Vergil - LNW5665
Attic Orators - GRW6705
Lucian the Sophist - GRW4930
Plato - GRW3501
Roman Oratory and Rhetoric - LNW6335
Selected Courses from Fall 2025-Fall 2026.
Selected Distinctions
Grass Scholar, 2025 Cohort
University Scholars Program, 2026 Cohort
Dean's Office Undergraduate Scholarship (Charles Vincent and Heidi Cole McLaughlin Endowment)
About My Academic Program
My coursework at UF has been shaped by a deep passion for the ancient languages, including works by Cicero, Vergil,
Pliny the Younger, Tibullus, Ovid, Catullus, Propertius, Sulpicia, and Suetonius in Latin, as well as Plato, Lucian,
Demosthenes, Lysias and Aristophanes in Greek.
Resume.
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