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Each year, starting in the fall and continuing well into the spring, the seniors of Thomas Aquinas College labor to create what will be the culmination of their four years of academic effort — the Senior Thesis. Based on a subject of each student’s own choosing, and drawing from the College’s classical curriculum, the thesis represents its author’s effort to apply his or her education to a matter of scholarly and personal importance.

On Saturday, March 3, the St. Genesius Players treated Thomas Aquinas College students, faculty, and families to a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The performance marked the first ever in St. Cecilia Hall, the College’s newly completed lecture and concert building, made possible through a generous donation from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation of Los Angeles.

On the afternoon of Sunday, February 25, Thomas Aquinas College students, faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Governors and President’s Council were treated to a virtuoso performance by Grammy Award–winning pianist Peter Serkin, who presented the inaugural concert for St. Cecilia Hall. Performing on a concert grand Schimmel piano, Mr. Serkin delighted his audience with his expressive renditions of Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat major (K. 570) and the Adagio movement from his Sonata in B minor (K. 540).

Thomas Aquinas College’s regional auxiliary bishop, the Most Rev. Robert Barron, paid an informal visit to its Santa Paula campus Wednesday evening, where he met, dined with, and offered Mass for the College’s students.

The students of Thomas Aquinas College celebrated Mardi Gras a few days early this year with a Saturday-night dance — the first ever to be held in the newly completed St. Cecilia Lecture. and Concert Hall. The event included student-produced entertainment on the St. Cecilia stage as well as costumes, feasting, and much swing dancing:

Note: The following essay is adapted from comments made before the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors at its October 28, 2017, meeting.

By Barbara O’Brien (’18)

Thank you. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here with you all today. It’s a hard act to follow Matt Dugan. Everyone looks up to him on campus!

I am Barbara O’Brien, and I am the oldest of nine. I come from a very small town in southwest Wisconsin. There are 500 people in my town!

Note: The following essay is adapted from comments made before the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors at its October 28, 2017, meeting.

By Matthew Dugan (’18)

Well hello, everyone. I’m Matthew Dugan, for any of you whom I haven’t yet met. I’m from Wayzata, Minnesota, a small town of 2,000 people, and I’m the youngest of four. So, there’s a pretty large gap between my oldest brother and me — he’s 13 years older, and that left me with big shoes to fill. I always felt like I had to be just like my big brother.

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The rules of Thomas Aquinas College’s Cookie Bake-Off are simple: Teams get one evening to bake their confections, working entirely from scratch. Recipes and ingredients are left to students’ own devices and imaginations. The next day, a select panel of tutors, students, and staff evaluate the cookies on the basis of several criteria, including taste and presentation. Below are photos from both the preparation and judging at this year’s competition:

This year’s winners: