Nick Unger
CLASSICAL LANGUAGES
He found his passion for the classics back when he was a student at Exeter.
B.A. Yale University; M.A. University of California, Berkeley. Appointed 2004.
Why Exeter: "I came to complete the circle, in a way, because I was a student at Exeter.”
On teaching: “I think of myself not as a dispenser of wisdom but a lover of wisdom, and together with my students we try to find the wisdom in classics.”
Dream job: This. “As soon as I graduated Exeter, I really wanted to come back and teach.” Unger feels very fortunate to be back with the leaders who guided him through the incredible Exeter journey. “All my classics teachers are still here 15 years later. It’s a testament to how much people enjoy teaching at Exeter.”
Advice for adjusting to Exeter: "Be like the ancient Greeks—break away from established ideas. They were speculative, imaginative, and went against the grain.”
Favorite Latin quote: “Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem,” which translates to, “So massive a task it was to found the Roman race.” To Unger it means, “Nothing in life worth anything is easy.” “I tell my students that studying classics at Exeter is hard but the rewards are immeasurable.”
Word on the street: He’s eccentric. “I’ve been known to don a toga and call myself Caesar. What better way to bring the dead to life than embody them myself?”
Other hats: As a student, Unger was the captain of the boys varsity cross country team. Now he’s the coach. Unger has also advised the Kirtland Society, which sponsors a classics play every spring, and Certamen, a Latin quiz bowl.
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