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Last Saturday marked the first-ever Homeric Games of Thomas Aquinas College, New England. For the event, organized by sophomore Pierce Mulholland, the men of the Wilson Residence Hall competed against each other — second floor vs. third floor — in several team and individual competitions modeled after the Homeric Funeral Games.

Over Columbus Day Weekend, Head Chaplain Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P., and College Counselor Greg Wood led a group of some 30 Thomas Aquinas College students on a backpacking trip to Topatopa Bluff (alt. 6,367 ft.) in the Los Padres National Forest, adjacent to the California campus:

Some 28 Massachusetts priests and deacons from Franklin and Hampshire counties met for their bimonthly meeting Monday on the site of the newest Catholic institution in the vicariate: Thomas Aquinas College, New England.

“It was a wonderful evening,” says Rev. Msgr. Ronald G. Yargeau, episcopal vicar of the Franklin and Hampshire deaneries. “We were received with great kindness and graciousness, and we were able to interact a bit with the students and join them for the Rosary. I think we were all duly impressed.”

After weekly matches that lasted throughout the first half of the semester, the intramural volleyball season came to an end on both campuses last Friday. In New England, the faculty team continued its season-long dominance, defeating the student squad of sophomore Jean Guerreiro:

And in California, junior Joe Colarelli’s team bested that of senior Clare Tuttle to claim the 2019 crown:

Congratulations to the champions!

On Saturday, the kitchen staff at Thomas Aquinas College, New England, had to attend some mandatory training. So the College ordered in pizza, and students enjoyed a game night in Gould Hall.

Games included Scrabble, Bananagrams, Monopoly, and more. As they played, students enjoyed Shirley Temples, courtesy of Simone Kelly (’22), who runs the campus coffee shop and who was, back in her home county in California, once named “Barista of the Year.”

It was a “baptism by immersion” on Monday evening as the students of Thomas Aquinas College, New England, celebrated the opening of the aquatics center in Meany Gymnasium — and just in time, now that the autumn weather has arrived.

Each fall the sophomores, juniors, and seniors take turns staging welcome events for the new Freshman Class. This past weekend, the California sophomores did their part, hosting an informal dance with a country theme in St. Joseph Commons. The dance included skits, refreshments, and plenty of swing-dancing:

One week after their California counterparts, the College’s New England students gathered last Thursday for an “On Tap” forum with their campus’ assistant dean for student affairs. Over the course of a two-hour conversation accompanied by root-beer floats in the Gould Hall lounge, Dr. Patrick Gardner answered questions on a wide range of topics, including future plans for campus buildings, the nature of the College’s classical curriculum — and his children’s names.