Hadley Callaway, Columbia University
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Hadley Callaway first felt a spark for the arts in middle school, during her after school painting classes. Mixing colors and dabbling brushes on the canvas gave her an outlet in which to express herself in a way that the sports team her peers so loved did not.
When she got older, Hadley’s passion transitioned into the classroom setting and took on a new twist. She fell in love with Classics—Latin and Ancient Greek language, literature, history, and, most importantly, art. Before graduating Summa Cum Laude at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, Hadley studied Greek and Roman art throughout her five years of Classics courses.
Hadley soon realized that the most fulfilling moment of her study was when she drew connections between the Classical art she was studying and her translations. In her senior year, Hadley had the amazing opportunity to take a course in Greek Art and Archaeology with Hugh Sackett, the 2014 winner of the Archaeological Institute of America's highest honor—the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement. Dr. Sackett helped show Hadley her love of archaeology.
From sophomore year to senior year, Hadley engaged with younger students in hopes of passing on her love for Greece and Rome as a Latin tutor. She also was selected by Groton’s faculty members to live in the freshman girl’s dorm and to undergo training to become a peer counselor—a mental health resource for the younger students in her dorm. Hadley found that the bonds she formed with the younger girls in her dorm was the highlight of her senior year.
At Columbia, Hadley has continued to engage with her love of Classical Art as a Classics major, hoping to specialize in archaeology. In addition to her language classes, she has studied both Introduction to Architecture and Classics of Western Art (or “Art Humanities”), one of Columbia College’s Core Curriculum courses. She also works with a Classics Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center as a paid research assistant. Currently, Hadley is helping Prof. Macaulay-Lewis put together an exhibit called “Living Heritage” to be held at the UN Delegates’ Entry in late May.
Looking to the future, Hadley intends to one day get her PhD in Classical Languages and go on to be a professor. Her dream is to drum up interest among younger students in a discipline that is thousands of years old—hardly an easy task. Next summer, she hopes to study abroad and join the Columbia group digging at the archaeological site of Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, Italy.