Seacrest Country Day grad-to-be devoted to classic languages, theater

For most high school students, lunch breaks and summer vacations are times to relax and have fun.

Emma Minges is not most high school students.

The Seacrest Country Day School graduate-to-be spends her free time delving into the Greek classics and learning how to read and write Sanskrit, the ancient language of South Asia.

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Her most recent project has focused on translating the Greek tragedy "Antigone" by playwright Sophocles with her Latin and Greek teacher Patrick Duffy.

Minges, 18, said she has enjoyed the process of translating the play because “it’s like a mathematical analysis; it’s quite a bit like a puzzle.”

“It’s just amazing to me to think of a production being staged all those years ago.”

In addition to pursuing her interest in classical works and keeping up with her daily schoolwork, Minges has managed to find time to participate in clubs and after-school activities, including mock trial, the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honors Society.

As president of her school’s Thespian Society, Minges has written and cast a murder mystery dinner fundraiser and put on two plays — "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

She also plays the piano and even taught herself music theory.

It was no surprise when she was accepted early to her first-choice college, Wesleyan University, a selective liberal arts school in Connecticut. She plans to study classics and participate in the school’s theater program.

Duffy, her teacher, described Minges as a “Renaissance woman.”

It’s students like her who make teaching "absolutely satisfying," Duffy said.

“When you get people who want to learn for the sake of learning and actually find language fascinating, it makes it fun,” he said.