Upper School History and Literary Salons

All year long, Upper School students at The Bush School have been applying the knowledge and skills they’ve absorbed in their classes to prepare them for further intellectual exploration and achievement after high school. During the Upper School History and Literary Salons, students demonstrated their ability to ask bold questions, present their thoughts in a vulnerable space, and generate new ideas by drawing on both their research and lived experiences. Through these uniquely curated events, the community witnessed the power of experiential education at Bush.

“It was a pleasure to witness our students at their academic and creative best during our History and Literary Salons,” shared Upper School Director Ingrid Gustavson. “I was blown away by the sophistication and confidence Upper School history students demonstrated in sharing their research and answering questions, often betraying genuine passion for their chosen subjects. This was balanced by the more personal, evocative words shared by poetry and short fiction students, who got a lot of love from the audience for stepping up to the mic.”

While the History Salon challenged Eleventh Grade students to think quickly and engage deeply with their research through a series of informative panel discussions, the Literary Salon, titled “Words of a Feather,” provided student writers with the space to share their reflective poems and short-fiction stories on the Benaroya Theater stage. Both evenings offered family, friends, and faculty the opportunity to support students as they led their presentations with courage and poise.

Wednesday, May 13, was the Upper School History Salon, an event focused on enlightenment, empowerment, and awareness. Over the course of three months, Eleventh Grade students researched a subject area in United States history that most intrigued them, such as politics, media, or advocacy, and presented their findings to an audience. Students also wrote thesis-driven papers that showcased their ability to summarize what they had learned. 

 

“One of the great benefits of the History Salon is that students get to stand up in front of an audience as an individual and be an expert,” said Upper School History Faculty Susanne Eckert. “They witness the payoff of three months of their research and hard work.”

 

Throughout the evening, students collaborated by theme to present and participate in a structured Q&A session with peers and adults across several classrooms in the Upper School South Building. Student moderator and audience questions encouraged students to think quickly, engage deeply with their work, and speak publicly. Some of the chosen subjects included: “Institutionalization of Women in the Early 20th Century;” “Constructing the ADA: Architects, Catalysts, and the Disability Rights Movement;” “Under the Big Top: The Tent of Oppression in American Society;” and other thought-provoking topics.

 

“Students begin their presentations thinking they’ll need to use their research papers to reference facts,” said Upper School History Faculty Paula Dowtin. “Then they surprise themselves when they realize they can just speak confidently about it, because they know the material so well.”

 

This inspiring and informative event brought the community together for a delightful evening of listening and learning—allowing students to trust their research and lean on their peers for support. 

 

“The students are the ones who facilitate the various panels,” shared Upper School History Faculty Nancy Bowman. “They’re responsible for reading their peers’ research papers and coming up with questions to draw each of the authors into conversation with one another.”

Friday, May 15, marked the debut of the Upper School Literary Salon: “Words of a Feather,” an open-mic-style affair in which Upper School students shared written words that evoked a range of emotions. Under the Benaroya lights, each student took center stage and read heartfelt stories and poems that they’d produced in Upper School English Faculty Molly Olguín’s short-fiction writing and Jasminé Smith’s poetry classes, as well as in their personal time. Both faculty members’ expert teachings were evident in the students’ concise and confident recital.

“The Literary Salon was born out of a desire to highlight two individual things: Birds of a Feather, which is the Upper School’s new student-led literary magazine,” Jasminé said. “Also, to showcase all the student talent that exists here at Bush, such as Ahsenti A. ’27, who is Seattle’s 2025/2026 Youth Poet Laureate.”

Ahsenti, who was the featured reader at the Literary Salon, was selected by Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) as the Youth Poet Laureate for her commitment to poetry, performance, and community engagement. According to SAL, “Ahsenti’s work shows resistance to categorization because she follows her intrigue, the fleeting moments that spark inspiration to create. Through her writing, she hopes to make space for those navigating layered identities, vulnerability, and for stories that make people feel seen in their most intricate and unspoken parts.”

“What I’ve often heard from students is that the short fiction and poetry classes give them the structure, time, and community around refining their work,” said Jasminé. “They can also receive feedback from their peers, which they find very helpful.”

The literary themes and styles presented in were endless, as each student invited perspectives through impactful prose-based haibuns, ghazals, structured sonnets, and riveting short stories. The audience laughed, cried, and empathized with readers as they narrated tales about courage, overcoming hurdles, identity and self-expression, immigration, and family. Through multiple storytelling forms, students invited diverse perspectives and highlighted Bush’s community of belonging that values every individual and every voice.

Molly and Jasminé hope to bring the Upper School Literary Salon back next year as an annual event for students to freely express themselves through several written forms. They encourage Upper School student writers to submit their creative pieces to the Birds of a Feather literary magazine to help them gain more confidence in sharing.  

“We’re implementing growth coaching, and its purpose is to continue expanding the creative writing program,” Molly said. “Susanne is our growth coach, and we’re working with Middle School faculty to foster creative writing across divisions.”

Students showed immense courage in both the Upper School History and Literary Salons, through public speaking and by trusting themselves from the start of their research through the end of their presentations. By demonstrating their innate ability to put their knowledge into practice, exercise self-assurance, and grow through their learning, students experience the impact of “learning by doing” at Bush.