Written by Andrew Lei ’27
Bellarmine hosts a seminal Justice Summit every year, encouraging students and community representatives alike to participate through discussion, shared experience, and testimony. The theme rotates every four years, encapsulating ideas of environmental stewardship, socioeconomic inequality, and racial disparity. In 2026, our school reflected on the topic of masculinity.
Another unique aspect of Bellarmine–central to its mission of service leadership–is that the school invites students to host breakout sessions of their own. Bells are given an outlet to use their voice, and, under the broad umbrella of the topic, can branch out in almost any direction they want. An idea immediately jumped to the Veterans Club. So many Bellarmine graduates have gone into military service, returned, and led accomplished professions. So many have been uniquely affected by their service experiences. So many have undoubtedly dealt with societal archetypes around what it means to be a “model soldier” and symbol of patriotism. Such a fertile field of discussion seemed ripe for a school Justice Summit.
With two other juniors, Hanbo Song and Joseph Lim – both of whom lean more toward STEM, but still devoted their time to this endeavor – we concretized a vision for our Justice Summit: “Uniforms and Unspoken Truths: What Veterans Teach Us About Masculinity.”
Each Summit presentation is structured to last around 65 minutes, a standard class period. We chose to break up that time into two categories: one, a fun game that connected to our topic, and two, a societally-relevant presentation on veterans issues.
For the first, Hanbo and Joseph came up with the idea of a Family Feud. This popular television game, meant to spark laughs and absurd answers, is built on the premise of two competing teams trying to guess the most popular answers to survey questions. For a Justice Summit about society’s perceptions of veterans and masculinity, we thought this would fit that mold perfectly.
For the second, I crafted a presentation based on a concept that my AP US History teacher Dr. Sullivan taught us in class: historiography, or the study of the study of history. In other words: how has history portrayed veterans, and how has that portrayal changed over time–whether across institutions, literature, or media?
The day of the Justice Summit came. Through much trial and error, and Dr. Sullivan generously providing her room, L-204, for the occasion, our Family Feud game was ready. Our presentation was set. We opened the door for our first round of attendees.
There were a total of three sessions. Each went better than the one before it. Hanbo adapted into his role as the Family Feud host, cracking jokes and prompting teams with questions. The questions themselves asked things like “You come across a veteran. What’s the first thing you tell them?” and “What’s an adjective society would use to describe veterans?”, and we got a humorous mix of answers. Joseph became a master of the game controls, which were a lot harder to manage than one might think.
The historiography presentation, although it took up a large chunk of time, also went smoothly. I particularly enjoyed interacting with the other students in the room. I’d ask them to identify what war an image was from. I’d ask for how they felt after watching a moving piece from a Vietnam veteran, who was spat upon by society when returning home from service. I’d implore them to fill out the Support Wall of our Bellarmine Veterans Foundation, inscribing their own message of gratitude. That wall, with their remarks, still remains open to everyone in the community: https://bellarmineveteransfoundation.org/support-wall.
One thing that Hanbo, Joseph, and I learned after hosting this Summit for the first time was how hard a teacher’s job really is. Delivering the same material three, four, or five times while maintaining your energy is exhausting, physically and mentally.
We also learned, however, that when you have a passion for the content you’re spreading, that’s the fuel that keeps you moving forward. That’s what makes Bellarmine teachers so special. That’s also what made this experience worthwhile to not only us, but hopefully also those who participated in our breakout room.
Ultimately, our “Uniforms and Unspoken Truths” Summit was only a continuation of the Veterans Club’s documentation and advocacy efforts. We were grateful for Bellarmine in providing the platform for us, and countless other students, to use our voice, and I personally can’t wait until next year to do it all again.