Over the past fourteen years serving as a faculty member at Benet Academy, Mr. Veselik’s classes have gone above and beyond the basic content of a religion course. By establishing personal connections with his students and runners and expressing his sincere care for others, Mr. Veselik has created an atmosphere that allows people to feel loved, valued, and respected.
Throughout his life, Mr. Veselik has valued God as a key component of his journey. As a little kid, his parents would encourage him to recite his prayers regularly and take him to Mass. Mr. Veselik knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in teaching, but he always imagined he would be teaching history or English. However, God, in his miraculous ways, opened Mr. Veselik’s eyes to the fascinating theology courses offered at The University of Notre Dame, and called Mr. Veselik to his vocation as a religion teacher.
Anyone who has had Mr. Veselik as a teacher can attest to the passion he brings. When someone gets a question right, he often will repeat their answer louder so everyone hears and understands the significance of it. He genuinely wants his students to understand what he is saying, and he often does by using real-life examples. Mr. Veselik desires that his students carry their faith outside the religion classroom. This is reflected in the motto of his classroom, J406: “Everyone is called to be a saint.” He hopes that students can refer to these seven words in all life situations and remember their ultimate goal.
In addition to learning class material, Mr. Veselik hopes that his students take away two lessons from his class. The first is “the God who made you loves you.” Mr. Veselik never fails to make his students feel loved. Sophomore Kelsey McCabe, who has had the privilege of having Mr. Veselik both freshman and sophomore year, said, “I look forward to religion class every day!” Students can look forward to the start of class when Mr. Veselik asks various students about their sports or extracurricular activities. He even will ask follow-up questions as well, proving that he is engaged in his students’ lives. Not every teacher willingly takes time out of their class to focus on individual students, but Mr. Veselik does. By making the student feel special in his eyes, he hopes the student can come to realize how special they are in God’s eyes as well. The second lesson he hopes his students learn is “relationship with God and neighbor is what brings true happiness — not money, power, or possessions.” Mr. Veselik includes many opportunities in his curriculum for students to connect with their classmates as well as with God. He does all this in an attempt to guide his students to true happiness.
This year, he stepped down from his long-standing position as religion department chair and began his role as the Benet boys’ cross country coach! Although this is his first year coaching cross country, he is definitely not new to running. He ran cross country back when he was a student at Benet as well as at Notre Dame. To this day, he still enjoys running as a hobby. Some of his other extracurricular passions include directing the Logos religious retreats for the seniors and working on the school board at his kids’ elementary school. He is always grateful to spend time with his wife and five children.
Mr. Veselik’s favorite bible verse is Romans 8:28- “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” No matter the situation, there is no need to despair when God is there. With his great love of God and immersive classes, Mr. Veselik is a fantastic representation of Benet’s mission to help students grow not only academically but spiritually as well. He will never end his quest to guide students to the understanding that, no matter who they are, they are called to be saints.
