Nanor’s Six-Year Study of Nagy’s Work Reached Harvard Class

Harvard’s 375th Commencement will feature Kiesse Nanor delivering the Latin Salutatory, a distinction earned through University-wide competition and rooted in a fascination with ancient narratives that began in her youth. Nanor’s interest was first sparked at age 12 with Gregory Nagy’s “The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours,” leading her to analyze stories and heroism in a new way. Rather than continue with French, a language spoken at home, Nanor chose to study Latin at Phillips Exeter Academy, captivated by its structure and layered meanings. Having studied Nagy’s work for six years, she recalls being starstruck encountering him as a student at Harvard, and ultimately focused her studies on the connections between ancient texts, culminating in a thesis written in Ancient Greek. “Taking stories and looking at them as something that can be analyzed really productively,” she said, has shaped her academic path and will now inform her address to the graduating class. Kiesse Nanor, selected to deliver the Latin Salutatory at Harvard’s 375th Commencement, embodies a rare convergence of classical scholarship and contemporary insight, demonstrating how the study of ancient texts can illuminate modern challenges. This…