obelisk 2026
of“ earn [ ing ], seiz [ ing ], risk [ ing ],” reaching for and beyond the goal itself in order to truly live and grow.
Artwork from every grade level represented in this year’ s Obelisk attests to boys’ striving. They are sharpening their observational skills through the process of creating fine art in graphite, acrylics, and marker. Their unique designs in woodworking, pottery, sculpture, and stained-glass demonstrate surprisingly innovative and personal risk-taking, as do their portraits and selfportraits rendered through photography, painting, and even crochet.
One prize essay in this collection spotlights the“ relentless striving” that enabled a humble priest to transform the educational experience of countless people; the other explores the Renaissance surge in artistic curiosity fueled by scientific knowledge. In a fifth grader’ s fictional chapter, old friends recollect their journeys and celebrate a shared yearning for the beauty of new frontiers: the distant ocean, the pristine white of snow, and“ yon blue mountain free.”
Student poetry and prose vignettes( in multiple languages!) also model that ongoing, vital process of seeking and savoring beauty. One seventh grader urges us to remain open to the“ magic” in transient moments epitomized by sakura blossoms, and to continue to look, listen, and“ wonder / What could this all mean? / What should I take away?” Another reminds himself, and us, to notice“ en todos los días que la belleza es todo, la alegría está en todas partes, y no se puede perseguir la felicidad; solamente debemos comprender que todo puede crear felicidad.”( For English translation, see page 52.)
These soulful explorations of what is good and what is possible help to answer— and to continue asking— that key question: what is it to excel? We are proud to share with you the evidence of Saint David’ s boys making this inquiry their own.
Catherine Milligan August 2026