Release Date: May , 2005

Students who received high marks on the National Latin Exam were given their awards at the annual classics department picnic. Pictured from left to right are instructor Vicki Wine, Ryan Bay, James Vallarta, Angelica Rankin, Elizabeth Toal, Catherine Bartunek, Andrew Viscariello, Jessica Travis and instructor Tom Sienkewicz. Not pictured are Kevin Watson and instructor Virginia Hellenga.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College students were joined by over 135,000 students from all 50 states and 14 foreign countries as they participated in the National Latin Exam earlier this spring.

Andrew Viscariello, a freshman from Brookfield, and Angelica Rankin, a freshman from Matherville, earned silver medals by achieving a maxima cum laude score on the Latin I exam.

Junior Elizabeth Toal of Burlington, Iowa, and freshmen James Vallarta of Morris and Catherine Bartunek of Lake Zurich achieved a magna cum laude score on the Latin I exam, and sophomore Ryan Bay of Mackinaw earned that score on the Latin II exam. Freshman Jessica Travis of Washington and sophomore Kevin Watson of Irvine, Calif., received cum laude scores in Latin I.

Participation in the exam has increased each year since its inception in 1978, when approximately 6,000 students enrolled. Exams are given for Latin I through Latin VI. Students in each level answer 40 questions: 20 on Latin grammar; 15 on mythology, Roman life, history, geography and derivatives; and five based on reading a passage in Latin. The time limit for the exam is 40 minutes.

The National Latin Exam is offered each year during the second week in March. Monmouth College is one of only five colleges to administer the exam to its students.