By Jonathan Culbreath (’17)

Note: The following essay was the runner-up in the 2015 Father Michael J. McGivney National College Essay Contest, sponsored by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America.

Just before leaving for Christmas Vacation, Thomas Aquinas College junior Jonathan Culbreath received some happy news: His essay, The Marian Vocation of the Philosopher, was

One in Four Members of the Class of 2019 Studied
Elsewhere Before Coming to the College

There are more than 83,000 students on Arizona State University’s 640-acre urban campus, making the odds of a chance encounter with an old friend slim, at best. Yet one day this past summer, when Moises Gomez was visiting the university with his sister, he ran into one of his classmates from Thomas Aquinas College’s 2012 High School Summer Program, Joseph Zwemke. The two friends greeted, then discussed some exciting news.

Shortly before Christmas Vacation, some 150 Thomas Aquinas College students staged a choral “flash mob” at a local shopping mall, singing several Christmas hymns and delighting surprised customers. The above, student-shot video of that impromptu performance has, in the last few days, generated considerable attention throughout the country.

Even when he was a child, Peter Knuffke was a Thomist. “I used to discuss theology with my dad a lot, and when he would describe the different points of view of various theologians, I would always say, ‘No, no! The position that Thomas Aquinas took — that’s the right one!’” he remembers.

When he was in high school, David Grothoff had a good friend who decided to attend Thomas Aquinas College. It was an intriguing choice, David thought, but not for him.

Before departing for Christmas vacation at the end of last week, a dozen Thomas Aquinas College students traversed the city of Santa Paula, collecting canned goods and other nonperishable items for needy local families. “The Rotary Club of Santa Paula puts on a Christmas food drive every year, and we always get together a group of students to go door-to-door and collect food for it,” explains sophomore Zoe Appleby, who led this year’s contingent. “We split up into four teams, with each one covering one-quarter of the city, and then walked through the neighborhoods asking for donations.”

During final examinations week at Thomas Aquinas College, students have supplemented their academic preparation with various forms of spiritual preparation — including seeking the intercession of the College’s beloved patron, St. Thomas Aquinas.

Bringing the joy of Advent and the promise of Christmas into the marketplace, some 150 Thomas Aquinas College students recently descended upon The Oaks shopping mall in Thousand Oaks to stage a choral “flash mob.”