Hailing from Amherst in the Massachusetts Pioneer Valley, Caitlin Eddings arrived at St. Bernard’s High School in the fall of 2020 with a background in Classics, linguistics and cartoon geology. The study of language entered Ms. Eddings’ life in 7th grade when she attended her first French class, heard (or didn’t hear) the dropped word-final vowels, and pragmatically switched to German. A few years later as a curious high schooler she came full circle, committing a summer to teaching herself both French and her first ancient language: Latin. Ms. Eddings continued to pick up languages on her journey to St. Bernard’s as well as rocks, gems and a darling little chihuahua named Mackerel. 

In 2016, Ms. Eddings received her bachelor’s degree in Ancient Greek, Latin and German, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She then pursued a PhD in Classical Languages at the University of California Los Angeles, where she eventually defended her masters thesis which explored unclear lines in two Ancient Greek dramas. After receiving her master’s degree from UCLA Ms. Eddings left to pursue teaching assistant positions in the Humanities Department of the University of California San Diego. 

Family and teaching called Ms. Eddings from California back home to the Northeast in early 2020. Ms. Eddings now heads the World Languages Department, teaches Latin and AP English and, on Mondays, plays Magic: the Gathering in the school's first club of its kind. Introduced to the game just a year ago, Ms. Eddings started the MTG club at St. Bernard's for her students, especially other young women, to master one-on-one games of strategy and design. As a collector of languages, rocks and fruitful adventures, Ms. Eddings hopes to teach her students the art of discovery and, through sneaky clues on her assessments, to “Always Use Your Resources.” 

Her favorite Latin phrase is:  tempus frūgis - a slight variation on the old classic.