"Have you heard of the saying ‘Every translation is an interpretation’?” asks junior Kyle Oskvig. “Well, I’m kind of a purist.” He’s referring to his decision to learn Latin, which he taught himself the year before he enrolled at the UI. As anyone who has studied a foreign language knows, second language acquisition is difficult—even with a good instructor. (Think how well you’d fare if you had to teach yourself—or if, like Kyle, you had to teach yourself a dead language—that is, one that’s no longer spoken!) Mention any of this to Kyle, though, and he shrugs modestly: “I really like languages.” Kyle is specifically interested in classical languages such as Ancient Greek and Latin (courses in which he's currently enrolled), but he certainly doesn't discriminate against the modern languages. In fact, he has declared a minor in French.
While classical languages are a passion of Kyle’s, he came to them through his first love, philosophy. “Philosophy examines all of the things that we take for granted,” he explains. “It shows the origin of our ideas and allows us to question them. Classics is a lens for viewing philosophy, giving me a feel for why people like Socrates and Aristotle thought the way they did.” Unsurprisingly, the classes he enjoys most have to deal with ethical philosophy; his other favorites have been first semester Greek with Professor Craig Gibson and just about any class taught by Marcia Lindgren. For his honors project, Kyle plans to combine his two interests by examining ethical values in ancient society. Ambitious? Perhaps, but if Kyle’s academic performance is any indication, he is more than equal to the challenge. Lindgren, one of Kyle’s strongest advocates, says, “Kyle brings maturity and, above all, intellectual honesty to class. He encourages everyone in class, himself included, to take a second look at both first impressions and long-held assumptions. And this is someone who had difficulty being admitted to the University because his academic background wasn’t typical. We in the Department of Classics are grateful that he decided to come to The University of Iowa and that he chose classical languages as one of his majors.”
Kyle is also president of the University of Iowa chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honors society that was organized to develop and promote interest in classical studies among University of Iowa students, and to stimulate interest in the art, history, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. “We’re kind of the last remnants of Old Guard,” Kyle says, “and a large part of what we are about is trying to get classics out there to people who haven’t heard about it.”
As a member of that “Old Guard," Kyle doesn’t just promote classics. He takes full advantage of the opportunities that the discipline has afforded him. Through one of the University of Iowa's study abroad programs, Kyle spent a winter session in Greece, where he experienced first-hand the history of the ancient city of Athens. “I liked being left on my own to explore," he says. "The museums, the architecture—it’s all just such a wonderful experience.”
As a student, Kyle acknowledges that he is not done growing intellectually. “I’d like to learn more about the sciences as well, maybe biology." He pauses for a moment, thinking. “Actually, I want to learn everything. I know that’s kind of ambitious but,” he shrugs, “it’s true.” A bit like the material he studies, Kyle has an inquiring old soul, but he is also very much alive and primed to enrich the world with his knowledge.
by Lauren Van Sant