Anna Van Dyke
Anna Van Dyke graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2019 on honor roll. She participated in Spoken Word club and competitions throughout all four years of high school. She is currently earning her undergraduate degree at Marquette University and is on track to graduate in spring 2023. Anna has made Klingler College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List multiple times and is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Literature. Her goal is to earn her master's in social work and become a Clinical Social Worker. Anna’s hope is to one day open her own practice focused on helping to improve the mental health of children and adolescents. Anna plans to use poetry and her continued use of personal writing in her professional field to help teach healthy coping strategies when it comes to processing different types of adversities.
The impact of poetry and the spoken word club
The Spoken Word Club has had a major positive impact on my life throughout my four years at OPRF and to this day. I met my best friend in my first spoken word group, Alice Atkins, who I also competed with in a slam competition and who is a co-contributor of “Respect the Mic” coming out next February in 2022. Spoken Word Club also gave me the opportunity to become a leader, as I was captain for a couple of semesters throughout our club. It gave me the chance to feel a part of a community where I was wanted and loved, without being overlooked in such a large high school such as OPRF. Spoken Word gave me the chance to be heard, to heal, and to increase my feelings of self-love and self-power. One of the few times I have ever felt truly heard or understood is when writing or performing at a showcase for Spoken Word club. Poetry itself gave me the chance to make something beautiful out of different painful experiences. Poetry was something that I felt set me apart from others, and made me a complete individual when I often felt blended into a crowd of classmates. I will forever feel grateful for the chance Peter Kahn, Adam Levin, and many others gave to everyone in the Spoken Word club to be heard and to be loved holistically. It was a unique community that I have never experienced before, and without it I would not be who I am today.
Top favorite poets or lyricists
Poets: Edwin Bodney, Javon Johnson, r.h. Sin
Lyricists: NAO, Noname, Amy Winehouse
Writing Prompts
Write about a time you felt like a shadow
Write about a moment from your life you would like to change
Write about something that was taken from you and you want back