The Mycenaean

Dr. Mash, or Magister Mash as his students call him, has taught Latin at Leesville Road High School for almost 23 years. In the 2017-18 school year, Dr Mash was awarded Teacher of the Year. He has also started Leesville’s chapters of both the Latin Club and the Latin Honor Society. 

Early Life

Dr. Mash was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In elementary school, he moved to Austin, Texas, and he lived there through high school and college. 

When Dr. Mash was in high school his older brother advised him to take Latin. Mash’s connection to the language was formed almost instantly. He said, “On the first day, I realized it was unlike anything I had ever studied, and I immediately knew it was different. I soaked up everything I heard; it just clicked in a way that other things had not.”

While his first job was at Little Caesars Pizza in Texas, that was supposedly not a factor in his decision to become a Latin teacher. His love of learning grew into a love for teaching when he tutored Latin in high school, adding, “Latin made a huge impact on me. It helped me understand language in a way that nothing else had, and I wanted to share that with others”.

College

Dr. Mash graduated from the University of Texas in Austin. After that, he moved to North Carolina and went to UNC-Chapel Hill for graduate school, where he obtained his Master’s Degree and PhD in Classics, the study of Latin and Ancient Greek.

While at UNC-Chapel Hill, Mash was a Graduate Teaching Assistant for a mythology course during his first year there. For the other three years, he taught elementary and intermediate Latin courses.

During the summers of graduate school, Dr. Mash traveled to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece and the American Academy in Rome, Italy to gain more first-hand experience.

Leesville

His first year at Leesville was very hectic as he was still finishing his PhD, his twin sons had just been born, and he had to figure out how to deal with high schoolers. However, the strong community and supportive staff helped him to find his place very quickly. 

Leesville is very important to Dr. Mash, he said, “It’s not just a place of work, It’s a place where I’ve been learning for 23 years.” 

Dr. Mash wants students to value their learning experience: “If I can help model intellectual curiosity and excitement about learning, and they don’t learn anything else from my class, I’ll take that as a success.”

Latin and Roman Culture

“Latin is something that I think makes language come alive. I know the throwaway cliche of Latin being dead, but as long as we speak, English and the romance languages then Latin will be relevant,” said Dr. Mash. 

While few people have conversations in Latin, it can help students to expand their vocabulary as most English words are loanwords — words borrowed directly from another language, or are Latin derivatives.

Dr. Mash also likes how Latin ties in well with English grammar, allowing students to understand further their own language using another.

Magister Mash greatly enjoys learning about Roman culture and literature. “My favorite Roman emperor is definitely Augustus. Augustus was able to create all kinds of new buildings in Rome. He ruled during Pax Romana, the Roman golden age, where the arts flourished, which was made possible by Augustus’ forward-looking rule,” said Dr. Mash

One of Dr. Mash’s favorite quotes is “Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto” by the Roman writer Terrence, which translates to “I am a person; I consider nothing human foreign to me.”, 

“I love the idea of everything in the human experience is common — it focuses on how we all share the human experience,” said Dr. Mash.

His Impact

Ellary Hileman, senior, has been the President of the Latin club for two years and has taken both Latin three and four with Dr. Mash. She said, “[Mash] truly cares about his students and really works to make sure that his students are succeeding. He also puts a lot of effort into making sure his students get where they need to go.” 

Meghan Kelly, senior, has had Dr. Mash for three years of Latin and Latin club: “He makes me more interested in Latin than I would be. I also think part of the reason I keep taking Latin is his teaching.” 

Dr. Mash gives students structured plans so they know what is happening at all times. He also goes in-depth on various topics to increase his student’s understanding.

Kelly also said, “My favorite part is the little sidebars on the study of words and their origins. It’s not just Latin. Sometimes it’s German or Greek. Class is like exploring the world around you and that’s the point of Latin.” 

Hileman’s favorite thing about Mash is how engaging his teaching is, adding, “He’s always coming up with ways to make Latin fun and not ancient.”