Harpur student spotlight: Emily Banach
Classics major spends ‘eye-opening’ four weeks in Rome during the summer
Emily Banach is discovering life through language.
Banach, a senior at Binghamton University, is double majoring in two areas she loves: classical languages and English.
“I chose English because I have always loved reading and enjoyed all my literature classes in high school,” Banach said. “When I got to Binghamton, I decided to take Latin and to fulfill my language requirement and that class made me realize how much I enjoy studying languages.”
Banach added classical languages to her majors after her first semester at Binghamton University. Her aim was to study Latin and Greek.
“I focused on classical languages because I love being able to learn about past civilizations by reading the literature they produced,” Banach said. “I feel that I’m combining the foreign language and critical reading skills I learn from my respective majors every day.”
Banach’s love of languages led her to study abroad for four weeks during the summer of 2018. As the recipient of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies’ 2018 Saul and Ruth Levin Education Enrichment Grant, Banach traveled to Rome as part of Assistant Professor Hilary Becker’s Ancient Italy in Context class.
“My time in Rome was eye-opening in terms of how different other cultures are from American culture, and what sort of challenges one can face when living abroad for extended time periods,” Banach said. “It’s a small example, but one thing that really hit me hard while I was abroad was how hard it was to find broccoli. It took me three weeks and four grocery stores to find a bag of frozen broccoli.”
Banach said she appreciated learning about Rome’s culture in a real-world setting.
“Being abroad taught me how to adapt to new places where things are very different from how they are at home,” Banach said. “I think that’ll be a skill that will help me no matter what I end up doing or where I live in the future.”
Outside of classes, Banach serves as a tutor. She hopes to continue sharing knowledge and teaching after graduation.
“I’m planning to go to grad school and study secondary education,” Banach said. “I’m applying for programs focusing on both Latin and English education partly because my most influential teachers in high school were my Latin teacher and English teachers. They pushed me to be the best student I could be, were passionate about their subjects and I guess they infected me with their love, too — given that Latin and English are my favorite subjects. I hope that one day I can inspire my students the same way they inspired me.”
Banach, who transferred to Binghamton University from the Rochester Institute of Technology, said her Binghamton journey has been beneficial not only in academics, but in her development as a student.
“Being a student at Binghamton has taught me how to trust my abilities,” she said. “Before coming here, I was a very quiet student and would only participate in classes if I knew what I was going to say was completely correct. The classes here have helped me realize that my comments and thoughts are valid and that I should share them whenever I have the chance to.”