CALL LATELY / Mac Uchimura

Classics major Mac Uchimura is one of two recipients in the nation to receive a coveted Frank M. Snowden Undergraduate Scholarship.

Uchimura will use the award to complete a Latin intensive course this summer, since understanding the language is critical within the classics field in order to comprehend ancient text.

The Pearl City native, who hopes to become a classics professor someday, fell in love with studying classical Greek literature in high school after a teacher assigned passages from Homer’s epic Greek poem, the Iliad. A passion for classics and theater has blossomed into a creative project under the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at UH Mānoa. The budding classicist is composing a musical based off of the Latin epic poem, Statius’ Thebaid, about the clash of two brothers over the throne of the Greek city of Thebes. [ HEAR MAC’S MUSICAL ]

“As someone who enjoys telling stories and making art (and who always gravitated towards older stories and art pieces), I think a lot about legacy and remembrance and the inherent human desire to be remembered,” Uchimura explained. “Eons ago, people made paintings on cave walls, and though we may not know specific things about them, we know that they lived and hunted and played and painted. They made art, and humans have continued doing that until the present day.”

In addition to writing, Uchimura is also composing 80’s inspired rock songs for the musical, and creating concepts of sets and costumes.

partial repost from UH News