ESSE's 59th edition, ESSE 2025, is now available online.

This issue of the award-winning literary-art magazine features a diverse set of work from Ursuline students, including poetry, short stories, plays, photography, and paintings.

The works follow the theme of "Renewal." ESSE 2025 was produced by the Ursuline Literary-Art Magazine Club, which was led by Editor-in-Chief Laurel O. '25 and Art Editor Andrea N. '25. The club is moderated by Dr. Jocelyn Holmes and George Rodriguez.

ESSE 2025 is dedicated to English teacher Rachel Davies. Editor-in-Chief Laurel O. '25 writes of Davies:

"Your one-on-one instruction and encouragement to take risks while writing allowed me to break out of the habit of writing what was safe (perhaps even leading to a renewal in my writing). With your instruction, I not only found a more authentic voice but  discovered how to break the rules of writing in ways that were meaningful and intentional."

ESSE 2025 dedicates its In Memoriam to former faculty member Kyle Lee. 

ESSE Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Laurel O. '25

Laurel’s writing has been published in ESSE her sophomore, junior, and senior years. Her senior year, she received the Dr. Anne Freeman Book Award for her poem “A Letter to a Non-Texan: Cowboy Hats” and took Creative Writing I and II at Ursuline. Additionally, Laurel’s art has been featured in ESSE her junior and senior years, and she has been featured in the BluePrint Gallery’s Young Artist Exhibition 2025 and Ursuline’s 2025-2026 Donor Calendar. She received Ursuline’s Purchase Award for her AP Art portfolio. Laurel has been making art since her freshman year and took Studio Art I-IV and Advanced Placement Studio Art 2-D Design Portfolio at Ursuline.

Art Editor

Andrea N. '25

Andrea’s artwork has been published in ESSE her sophomore and senior years. During her time at Ursuline, she has taken art each year up to Studio Art IV Mixed Media. Additionally, during her freshman year, she received an Outstanding Achievement Award for Studio Art I. In her sophomore year, she received a Visual Art Artistic Achievement Award for Studio Art II for her color pencil piece, “Memory Slices.”

Assistant Editor

Wren S. '26

Assistant Art Editor

Avery G. '26

Public Relations Officer

Kate W. '25

Moderators

Dr. Jocelyn Holmes

Mr. George Rodriguez

Copy Editors

Jordan M. ’25

Isabel P. ’25

Jillian L. ’27

Sarah M. ’27

Selection Committee

Annabelle C. ’27 

Blaire T. ’26 

Celeste T. ’25 

Ella Kate D. ’25 

Grace R. ’27 

Kate W. ’25 

Marisa M. ’28

ESSE Legacy

Ursuline Academy’s first literary magazine was published in the fall of 1907 as St. Angela’s Echo in commemoration of St. Angela Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline order, during the centenary of her canonization. Filled with black and white photos of the old, Gothic-style school building and advertisements from local businesses, St. Angela’s Echo, Vo.1 included four poems and two short stories. The small pamphlet sold for $1.00. Though the styles of writing and the name of the magazine have changed, Ursuline’s love of art and literature has not. Past editions of Ursuline Academy’s literary magazine signify the rich history of this publication and serve as a reminder that this humble volume too will become part of that legacy for future generations.