Photo by Orin Zyvan ’04

Clara Hillier ’09

classics

Hometown: Portland, Oregon

How Reed changed me: I was really challenged at Reed. Ultimately, it gave me confidence. It’s been wonderful. For four years, we get to focus on becoming the people we want to be. I am so grateful I got the chance to do that, thanks to the financial aid office. Reed opened my eyes to my true potential both intellectually and emotionally.

Cool stuff I did: Pursued professional acting career while at Reed. Studied in Athens. Gray Fund and Admission Office intern. Lived in the now infamous Running with Scissors dorm freshman year.

Financial aid:  Yes

Adviser: Prof. Wally Englert

Thesis: Words of a Concealed Woman: What Clytemnestra is Actually Saying

What it’s about: I’m translating four of Clytemnestra’s speeches. I really think there’s more to Clytemnestra that modern audiences realize. There’s a tendency to write her off as a crazy bitch who just kills her husband and rejects her children, whereas I find her to be a master actor who is in command of herself the whole time and can travel in and out of whatever persona is desired in the present circumstances.

What it’s really about: What Athenian dramatists permitted and prevented female characters from saying on stage.