Veritas, a well-known club at Oak Park High School, has been on campus for nine years. Through Mrs. Wall-Smith’s classroom doors, a space to write and create projects was revealed.
“I have been an adviser for the last four years,” English teacher Jessica Wall-Smith said. “I took over from former English teacher Leslie Miller in the 2021-22 school year.”
The club focuses on creating a literary magazine featuring student works that are published at the end of the year. Wall-Smith expressed her gratitude for being the adviser of the Literary Magazine.
“Having a backstage pass to the publication process is a joy,” Wall-Smith said. “I read hundreds of student works each year and am always blown away by the talents of many current and former students of mine. Seeing high schoolers in a creative dimension, instead of just in an academic context, allows me to get to know them so much better.”
Veritas holds two semester Writ piece contests, one in the fall and one in the spring. This year’s fall theme was “Nostalgia” and the spring theme is “Changing Love.” The winners of each contest are published in the magazine.
In addition to their written works, the club hosted an Open Mic Night and a Cover Photo Contest. When asked what the club’s plans for the future were, Wall-Smith said that it’s up to the next club cabinets to dream and pitch new ideas.
One person who enjoyed the Open Mic Night was senior Kennedy Sheehan.
“I loved hearing everyone’s poems and short stories and it was so cool how I was able to learn so much about the author’s experiences from a single page,” Sheehan said.
Not only was Sheehan at the event, but she is also a member of the club.
“I read one of my poems called ‘Every Touch Feels Like a Wound’ which dives into the residual pain of trauma. This poem was published in last year’s edition of Veritas,” Sheehan said.
Another senior involved in the club is Rachel Newman.
“I performed a poem I wrote in AP Literature, it was about myself and it was nice to actually read it out loud to people,” Newman said. “I liked the poem I wrote, but I definitely took inspiration from the others I heard everyone else performing.”
Jayden Bellemeur, the President of Veritas, finds that the club and magazine can benefit the community of students.
“My favorite part about Veritas [is that] we can give a platform for students to express creative writing and showcase student voices,” Bellemeur said.
Near the end of three years with the club, working on the magazine, Bellemeur said “there’s nothing [she] would change” about the system created by Wall-Smith.
“I wanted to become president because I remember the feeling I had when I was first published,” Bellemeur said, “and I want to get that feeling to everyone that wants to achieve it as well.”
