From Minnehaha to Notre Dame: Sophie King '21 Studies the Classics to See Scripture with New Eyes

As young adults step into their professional lives, it’s easy to see the coming years as a series of résumé lines to conquer. Slowing down and allowing success to grow out of one’s own formation isn’t always easy.

This profile is part of a series highlighting young Minnehaha alumni who are pursuing their work with thoughtfulness and purpose. Rather than chasing short-term wins to build their LinkedIn profiles, these alumni are asking deeper questions about who they are becoming—and making choices that reflect the passions, personality, and gifts God has placed within them.

Sophie King '21

University of Notre Dame
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Spot on the Map 

I'm at Notre Dame pursuing a master's in classics with a focus on reception studies—the study of how later literature engages with classical texts­—building on my undergraduate studies in English literature and classics at Hillsdale College. 

Why Classical Languages 

I want to become proficient in the classical languages so I can engage with both English and classics texts with equal immediacy. I plan to pursue a PhD.

Seeing Scripture with New Eyes

As a young Christian, you eventually realize that biblical texts come to us through translation. It was still strange to realize that the passages of Scripture I read in Greek are older than the English phrases I grew up with. It solidified in my mind that Scripture is a historical text, and it's in conversation with other writings from the first couple of centuries.

The Value of the Classics

In our rush to produce "more" we can forget the human element: producing for the good of ourselves and our fellow humans. To do this, we must study people and the stories they tell through art and literature. C.S. Lewis's sermon "Learning in Wartime" argues that the pursuit of learning and culture is not a distraction from Christian faith during crisis but something to be sanctified and humbly submitted to God. It is a beautiful sermon and it's become my manifesto as a scholar.

Education as Formation

The kind of person you are becoming is more important than the products you create. When we ask students to write essays it isn't because we want more essays. It's so students can become a certain type of person who has the capacity to communicate. You are the goal, not the essay.  

Carry it Forward

Ms. Beck required us to parse every single word and phrase of our reading. If you did it correctly for a certain number of weeks, you were released from that responsibility. It's tedious, but builds quick recall skills. I still do this with my assignments, especially if a translation is giving me trouble. It's practice I hope to implement as a Latin teacher one day.