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High sCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAM 2014
Two Weeks of Faith, Friends & Learning
Some 136 rising high school seniors spent two weeks on campus in late July and early August for the annual Great Books Summer Program for High School Students. Members of this year’s group hailed from 30 states, 7 countries, and 4 continents, traveling from as far as Argentina, Italy, and Singapore to get a taste of the life — academic, spiritual, and social — of a Thomas Aquinas College student. The students studied various original texts drawn from the College’s classical curriculum, including authors such as Plato, Euclid, Tolstoy, and St. Athanasius.
When not in class, the students enjoyed a wide range of activities, including a hike in the neighboring Los Padres National Forest, basketball and volleyball tournaments, swing dancing, singing around a campfire, and dabbling with watercolors at the nearby painters’ shack. They also took field trips to the beach, the Hollywood Bowl, the Getty Museum, and Santa Barbara. For spiritual fortification there were two Masses offered daily in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, as well as Eucharistic Adoration, evening Rosaries, and nightly consecrations back in the residence halls.
The Summer Blog: Photos & Updates 
About the High School Program
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“OUTSTANDING ACADEMICS”
Princeton Review Gives College High Ratings for Academics, Aid & Quality of Life
Thomas Aquinas College is one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the College in the 2015 edition of its annual guide, The Best 379 Colleges. Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the publication, The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide.
While these 379 schools are not ranked in any order, they are rated in eight categories on a scale of 60 to 99. Among the ratings for Thomas Aquinas College are scores of 98 for academics and 99 for financial aid, plus a score of 97 for quality of life. The guide lists the College as one of the top colleges in the West, one of only 75 on its Best Value Colleges list, and one of only 10 on its Financial Aid Honor Roll.
Says Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s Senior VP / Publisher and author of The Best 379 Colleges: “Thomas Aquinas College offers outstanding academics, which is the chief reason we selected it for the book.”
Full story
The College’s Princeton Review Profile
Other college guides
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“WITNESS TO THE TRUTH IN LOVE”
Fr. Illo’s Homily from a Recent Alumni Wedding
Note: Head Chaplain Rev. Joseph Illo delivered the following homily at the nuptial Mass of Annie (Kaiser ’11) and Chris Kuebler (’04) on June 28, 2014, in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel:
“On behalf of the Kuebler and Kaiser families, I welcome all of you to this Chapel of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, the jewel of Thomas Aquinas College. Chris and Annie have chosen to be married in what we call the ‘extraordinary form’ of the Mass, perhaps because they aspire to an extraordinary marriage. You’ll notice that in this form of the Mass, bride and groom exchange vows before Mass so they can attend the sacrifice as husband and wife. We attend not only to witness their public commitment, but also to pray for them. It is not easy to be married, but for those who make the necessary sacrifices, it is the highest and most consoling blessing this side of heaven, a foretaste of divine love in heaven.…”
Full homily
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THE WISDOM OF GENESIS
The 2014 Summer Seminar Weekends
Each July, Thomas Aquinas College invites members of the President’s Council — the backbone of the College’s financial aid fund — to one of two Great Books Summer Seminar Weekends. At these weekends attendees participate in a series of classroom discussions about great books led by the College’s president, dean, and other senior members of the teaching faculty. Between seminars, attendees also enjoy delicious meals served both indoors and outdoors on the campus, as well as daily Mass and confession offered by the College’s chaplains.
The readings and discussions for this year’s weekends focused on the theme, “Reading the Scriptures: The Wisdom of Genesis.” Participants read and discussed the first chapters of Genesis, as well as St. Augustine’s commentary on Creation and St. Thomas’s commentary on the Fall. Additionally, President Michael F. McLean presented a talk about the readings, and Head Chaplain Rev. Joseph Illo delivered a homily entitled, “Reading, Praying, and Teaching God’s Word.”
Text and Audio of Dr. McLean’s Remarks
Photos: Summer Seminar #1
Text of Fr. Illo’s Homily
Photos: Summer Seminar #2
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CHANGES IN THE CHAPLAINCY
Fr. Hildebrand Becomes Head Chaplain,
Fr. Paul Returns to Campus
At the start of the upcoming academic year, there will be a new head — and a new member — of the Thomas Aquinas College chaplaincy. Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem. (’78), a graduate of the College who has served as a chaplain since 2011, is succeeding the departing Rev. Joseph Illo as head chaplain. Meanwhile, Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P., who served as one of the College’s chaplains from 2006 to 2012, is returning after two years in Alaska.
“The love of Christ and his Church has gathered us together here at Thomas Aquinas College,” says Fr. Hildebrand. “By study, reflection, and discussion we come to know God; by prayer and contemplation we come to love Him. The chaplains help to facilitate that love by ministering the Sacraments and providing spiritual direction so that the students may thrive humanly and spiritually.”
Adds Fr. Paul, “I am once again privileged to be serving all the important work of the College. What a great blessing to come back!”
Full story
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Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem. (’78)
Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P. |
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