Meet the California 2025 Summer Program Prefects, Part V

We now present the final installment in our introduction of the prefects for the California High School Summer Program, which begins July 6! For previous introductions, see the Summer Blog,
And to be part of one of this year’s three programs, apply now!

Patrick Daly (CA’26)

The son of the College’s California Admissions Director, Patrick Daly (CA’26) thought he had a good idea what Thomas Aquinas College was all about … and he wasn’t interested. “It came up as an option for college, but as a young teenager wanting to get away, it wasn’t appealing to me,” he says. Nevertheless, he attended the 2021 Summer Program. “Almost immediately, I felt like there was this whole world around me I didn’t understand at all, and the two weeks I was there were very fruitful and exciting in the best and most pure way possible. The way I was thinking about college completely changed.” His view of the College flipped, and he knew it was the school for him. 

Patrick especially loves the small size of the student body, which allows for lots of close friendships and a unified community. “As a student, it’s really beneficial to have a close-knit community, because you know everyone is having the same experience as you,” he says. “You can really see how dedicated and happy everyone is, and the Summer Program gives you a chance to be a part of that.” Patrick will also be serving as the head men’s prefect for the One-Week Summer Program (July 27-August 3), so he looks forward to meeting all of this year’s attendees! 

Rose Anderson (CA’26)

Though her father is an alumnus of the College, Rose Anderson (CA’26) did not hear much about TAC until high school, when he gave her “the pitch” he had given each of her four older siblings. “He gave an explanation of his undergraduate experience and what TAC is all about but left it up to us to look into it further,” she explains. “I was the only one of my siblings who took him up on it because I was so intrigued by his description of the Socratic seminars and curriculum.” After researching the College’s website and attending the Summer Program, she fell in love with the classes and Catholic community. “I had always heard that college is where you ‘find yourself,’ and I remember being struck on the program that I wouldn’t want to find myself anywhere but here.” 

Rose is now a veteran Summer Program prefect and will be returning later in the summer to serve as the head women’s prefect for the one-week program. An avid coffee connoisseur, she is excited to make and share drinks during coffee shop nights, as well as to partake in all the other activities the Summer Program has to offer. 

Lee Rea (CA’23)

“I grew up being exposed to the wonderful ideas and works the College studies,” says Lee Rea (CA’23), whose parents are both alumni. “My initial impression was that it was a safe, joyful, and special place, where every class, day in and day out, was centered around the most profound topics: things that really matter.” In high school, his impression was realized when he attended the Summer Program himself, and he was sold. He graduated from the College in 2023 and now works in the engineering department of a local medical-device company. He is a newlywed, and he and his wife are expecting their first child this fall!

As a graduate, Lee brings to the table the perspective of one who has experienced the whole curriculum, which he hopes to share with this year’s attendees. “I hope to show them the possibilities of spending four years of intense learning with the best of friends and abounding sacraments,” he says. “I pray they will take away the beauty of collaborative discussion of profound truths, the graces of the sacraments, and memories of happy times!” 

Marianna Favarato (CA’26)

In high school, Marianna Favarato had her eyes on the sky as she planned to attend an aeronautical school for aerospace engineering. But, while surfing the internet, she discovered Thomas Aquinas College and decided to try the Summer Program. “The effect it had on me really kicked in after I left,” she says. “Eventually, I realized that there’s nothing that matters more to me than cultivating a life of leisure and wisdom ad meiorem dei gloriam, and that’s what TAC begins for you in a very fervent way. This decision was like setting my soul free.” 

Three years later, Marianna is still happy with her decision and hopes to share the freedom she found with this year’s Summer Program attendees. “The Summer Program lets high schoolers know that there are other options out there than what society or common opinion holds a good or successful education to be,” she says. “It gives everyone a taste of what being a human is all about.”