In presenting the Thomas Aquinas College Commencement Address on May 15, the Most Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, pointedly declined to tell the Class of 2016 to “believe in yourself,” or to “dream big dreams,” or that “you have the power within you to achieve whatever you want in life.”
 
While acknowledging that such platitudes are well-intended, His Excellency chose instead to focus on an important truth. “The way to attain one’s full potential in life is not to start out believing in oneself, but believing in God,” the Archbishop told the 79 graduates. “Do what God calls you to do in life: to discern and fulfill your vocation, so that you may become the person that God created you to be.”
 
The College’s 42nd Commencement began, per custom, with the Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, at which His Excellency served as the principal celebrant and homilist. Following the Mass, just outside the Chapel on the academic quadrangle, was the Commencement ceremony itself, during which the Class Speaker, April Shonnard (’16), echoed the Archbishop’s theme of trusting in God. “After four years,” Miss Shonnard reflected, “I realize more how much I do not know. However, this is what God wants us to learn so that we can more fully turn to Him.”
 
As part of the Commencement ceremony, the College honored Archbishop Cordileone for his faithful service to the Church by presenting him with the Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion, the College’s highest honor. President Michael F. McLean also took the occasion to honor the College’s  librarian of 45 years, Viltis Jatulis.

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COLLEGE REVIEWS
College Earns Endorsement of Newman Guide, Named a Top School for Book Lovers

• In the 2016-2017 edition of The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College, the Cardinal Newman Society once again recommends Thomas Aquinas College as one of 29 Catholic institutions nationwide with a strong Catholic identity, lauding it for its “impressive intellectual rigor that is matched by a commitment to orthodox Catholicism.” While noting that the College’s “success has encouraged the emergence of other faithful Catholic colleges,” the guide observes that it “still has the distinction of being the only Catholic college in America that teaches exclusively from these classic works of Western civilization.”

• About Great Books, a website dedicated to promoting excellent literature and a love of reading, has ranked Thomas Aquinas College third on its list of 30 Great Small Colleges for Book Lovers, campuses where “books are cherished and book lovers will feel right at home.” The authors have included some of the schools on the list for “their extraordinary libraries or other resources for book lovers,” and others “for their unique dedication to the great books.” In the case of Thomas Aquinas College, however, which is blessed with an extensive library and a curriculum that employs only the great books, both explanations could pertain.