
Bottcher.
Mountain Brook High School student Matthew Bottcher, a rising senior, will serve as president of the Alabama Junior Classical League for the 2020-21 academic year.
The AJCL is a branch of the National Junior Classical League, an organization for middle and high school students studying Latin and Greek.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe I really got this position, but I’m so excited for what the future holds,” said Bottcher, who learned of his selection in mid-April.
After attending his first national conference last summer in Fargo, North Dakota, Bottcher made it his goal to become AJCL president.
He has taken Latin since he was in seventh grade at Mountain Brook Junior High and served as president of the MBHS Latin Club this school year. Bottcher “really has taken to” the AJCL, MBHS Latin teacher Drew Lasater said. “From the time he was in seventh grade, he’s really been into it.”
Bottcher started studying Latin because he aspired to be a doctor and knew that many medical terms have Latin roots. It soon became his passion.
“I fell in love with the language, grammar and culture of the ancient Romans,” he said. “I find it so interesting and beneficial to learn about the roots of our language and society.”
Submitted by Mountain Brook Schools.