'Dare to dream,' Thomas Aquinas grads urged

After four years of study, discussion, prayer and friendship, the Class of 2017 at St. Thomas Aquinas College prepared Saturday to leave the idyllic campus and venture into the world.

That world would be difficult, commencement speaker Mother Agnes Mary Donovan told the 91 graduates of the small Catholic liberal arts college near Santa Paula. But it would also be a world full of possibilities, a place they could have a positive influence on, she said.

“Dare to dream — dreams full of truth and beauty and goodness — for the world needs your dreams,” she told the graduates. “Dare to dream of living the higher calling for which you were created.”

Donovan is superior general of the Sisters of Life, a New York-based anti-abortion religious community that assists pregnant women in need. She and the Rev. Paul Scalia, son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, were among special guests at this year’s graduation ceremony. Scalia, who serves in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, gave the baccalaureate Mass prior to the commencement.

All students at Thomas Aquinas College study the same curriculum and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. The curriculum focuses on the great books of Western civilization. Students read and analyze original texts of important thinkers in math, science, philosophy and other subjects, said Anne Forsyth, director of college relations.

“It’s unique. It’s the only Catholic 'great books' program in the country,” she said. “They read Newton and they read Euclid; they’re not reading textbooks. It’s a very thorough education.”

Graduates will be going into careers in a variety of fields, including finance, engineering, architecture, journalism and the sciences, Forsyth said. Others will be attending graduate school.

For graduate Nnadozie Onyekuru, attending Thomas Aquinas College was a dream come true. The 28 year-old traveled from Nigeria to enroll in the undergraduate program, which he said he came upon by chance while browsing the internet. The college offered his ideal curriculum, he said.

“I thought, 'What? I could study there for four years?'” said Onyekuru, who will attend the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to study for a Master of Global Affairs in the fall. “It’s been like a dream. It’s one of those things you don’t want to wake up from. It’s been amazing to find a community like this.”

Aaron Smith, 22, came to Thomas Aquinas from El Paso, Texas. He also called his experience at the college “amazing,” although he admitted he’d struggled to finish his thesis: a probe into how humor relates to the human intellect. He said the college’s student discussion groups — an integral part of the curriculum — had taught him the most.

“It taught me how to think; it really did,” said Smith, who plans to become a physician assistant. “There’s so much you can learn by just talking. It’s been incredible.”

For Greta Becher, Thomas Aquinas College was a little closer to home. The 23-year-old is from Santa Paula. She said she plans to work as a paralegal, and is considering studying theology in graduate school. Becher said she appreciated the friendships she formed at the college, plus the academic program.

“I just loved how unified it was. Everything that you learned was ultimately going to be brought together,” she said. “There wasn’t any part of life that was left out.”