Jeff McLaughlin on a Lifelong Passion for Classical Languages
Graduate Update, 2016
Back in 2011, during evenings and weekends, Jeff McLaughlin studied, read and translated ancient Greek and Latin. With a bachelor's degree in political science from Skidmore College in New York under his belt, McLaughlin fueled his interest in the classics with courses from UC Berkeley Extension.
My courses have fed my lifelong passion for classical languages.
Years after taking Rali Christo's classes, McLaughlin still keeps in touch with the instructor, who continues to inspire him. "Rali is always willing to try new things, new teaching methodologies to help her students overcome the challenges in studying these ancient texts," McLaughlin says. Ancient texts like those in Biblical Hebrew, one of the languages McLaughlin has translated.
In addition, McLaughlin recently collaborated on a translation of Cardinal Robert Bellarmine's De Romano Pontifice. "The translator had done an admirable job with the Latin, but Bellarmine quotes a number of Greek texts and the translator needed help in correctly rendering these," he says. "I would never have done any of this without Rali's wonderful instruction, her extensive knowledge of her field and UC Berkeley Extension's weekend courses."
Weekend courses fit his schedule because during the week, he is a principal technical marketing engineer at Cisco Systems. It's not a career that normally lends itself to reading 16th-century works. However, McLaughlin firmly believes that his education in humanities does benefit his business career. His work with languages keeps his mind sharp and attentive to detail on the job, and his writing and speaking skills have also benefited.
"Work occupies so much of our time,” he says. "It's great to have this opportunity to work on something else—and to do something personally enriching. And in that respect, the UC Berkeley Extension program has been a godsend."
Spring 2011
During the day, Jeff McLaughlin is the director of network architecture at a Silicon Valley tech company; during his evenings and weekends, McLaughlin studies, reads and translates ancient Greek and Latin. With a bachelor's degree in political science from Skidmore College in New York, McLaughlin continues to fuel his interest in the classics with courses from UC Berkeley Extension.
"Work occupies so much of our time, it's great to have this opportunity to work on something else—and to do something personally enriching," he says. "And in that respect, the UC Berkeley Extension program has been a godsend."
After 10 courses with UC Berkeley Extension instructor Rali Christo, McLaughlin's relationship with this classics instructor is inspiring. "She's always willing to try new things, new teaching methodologies to help her students overcome the challenges in studying these ancient texts," McLaughlin says. "Rali may be a teacher, but she is always learning. She has a natural curiosity, and it's infectious."