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A HOPEFUL SiGN OF THINGS to Come
Hundreds Attend Open House on College’s New England Campus
“Every time we have hosted an event on our New England campus, it has been overwhelming to see how many people turn out,” says Thomas Aquinas College Admissions Director Jon Daly. “Last Sunday was no exception. It was wonderful to see how enthusiastic people are to welcome the College to the region.”
Nearly 300 prospective students, parents, teachers, and friends came to the Open House, which drew guests from throughout the Northeast. The event was the latest in a series of gatherings as the College prepares to open the doors to the New England campus — the beautiful, century-old former site of a preparatory school in Northfield, Massachusetts — at the start of the 2019-2020 academic year.
The afternoon began with Mass in the New England chapel, offered by Rev. Michael Casey, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Hartford. Afterward the group moved to Olivia Music Hall for a panel Q&A led by the College’s president, Dr. Michael F. McLean. The Admissions department then offered tours of the campus, with stops at the dining commons, gymnasium, women’s residence hall, and classroom building. The event concluded with refreshments in Olivia Hall.
“The day came off beautifully,” says Mr. Daly. “It was a joy to welcome so many people to our new campus — and a hopeful sign of all the good that is to come.”
Full story and photos 
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THE COLLEGE IN THE NEWS
Fr. Rutler, George Weigel Offer Praise
for Thomas Aquinas College
• In a recent column, Rev. George Rutler — pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Manhattan — cited Thomas Aquinas College as a counterexample to a news story about yet another Catholic institution that, having lost its focus, is now forced to shut its doors. “Thomas Aquinas College has emphasized quality over size since its founding in 1971 and has become one of the best regarded colleges in California,” he wrote. “This year, it is opening a beautiful additional campus on an historic site in Massachusetts. Its California chapel, built in the Spanish Mission style, is a magnificent witness to Catholic heritage.”
• Writing for First Things and Catholic World Report, papal biographer George Weigel noted the recent hiring of Dr. Thomas Hibbs, a former member of the Thomas Aquinas College teaching faculty, as the new president of the University of Dallas. “Tom Hibbs joins a gallery of other Catholic college and university presidents,” including the College’s own Dr. Michael F. McLean, “who are leading a renaissance in Catholic higher education,” wrote Mr. Weigel. “Their schools, and others, seek to prepare students for any post-undergraduate endeavor by giving them a firm grounding in the liberal arts, Catholic faith, the experience of Catholic community and public service. And they succeed.”
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Rev. George Rutler
George Weigel |
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“A LENTEN SACRIFICE”
Students Keep Vigil and Bear Witness throughout “40 Days for Life”
As part of their Lenten observance, nearly 50 Thomas Aquinas College students have taken part in the 40 Days for Life prayer vigils outside the Ventura, California, Planned Parenthood.
“I talked to the people running the campaign locally, and they said it would be great if we could do a couple of hours for one afternoon a week,” says junior Ryan Uchison, who organizes the student contingent. “I got thinking, between us all — even though the intellectual life is our primary goal — we could do a lot more than that.” So he began to schedule vigil shifts, recruit volunteers, and find drivers to make the 20-mile trip. As a result, for the last five Thursdays, Thomas Aquinas College students covered the entire day’s shifts, from morning to night.
“Nothing has stopped Ryan and his fellow classmates from Thomas Aquinas College from coming out to pray at the local Planned Parenthood in Ventura,” the 40 Days website recently stated. Adds Anna Murphy, a volunteer for the local campaign, “They come out super-early in the morning — I give God all the glory for their coming out and doing that.”
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TAC Students pray outside an abortion clinic
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FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College's Alumni Blog
• At its upcoming national convention, University Faculty for Life will award its Rupert and Timothy Smith Award for Distinguished Contributions to Pro-Life Scholarship to a graduate of the College, Dr. Thomas A. Cavanaugh (’85). The organization, which presents the award annually to honor “scholarly achievement and service of the pro-life movement,” chose Dr. Cavanaugh for his work on medical ethics, particularly as it pertains to euthanasia. A professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco, Dr. Cavanaugh is the author of Hippocrates’ Oath and Asclepius’ Snake: the Birth of the Medical Profession, which Oxford University Press published last year.
• The student newspaper of the Franciscan University of Steubenville recently featured a profile of two of the university’s newest professors, both graduates of Thomas Aquinas College: Drs. Susan (Burnham ’78) and Michael Waldstein (’77). The story chronicles how the Waldsteins met on Susan’s first day at the College and married just three days after her graduation. Michael then earned degrees from the University of Dallas, the Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, and Harvard Divinity School. While homeschooling eight children — six of whom have gone to Thomas Aquinas College — Susan earned two degrees at the International Theological Institute. Both now teach theology at Franciscan.
• Franz Wall (’16) has been admitted to the Navy Health Professional Scholarship Program, under which he will receive a full scholarship to dental school, plus a stipend, valued at upward of $600,000. Upon graduating from the College in 2016 he completed prerequisite classes at the University of California, Merced, then took the Dental Admissions Test and scored in the 98th percentile. He was soon thereafter one of the first six students accepted to the University of Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry this year. “As years pass since my graduation,” he writes, “I realize more and more the value of my education and cannot be thankful enough.” |
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 Dr. Thomas A. Cavanaugh ('85)
Drs. Susan (Burnham '78) and Michael Waldstein ('77)
Franz Wall ('16) |
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CYBERSECURITY AND ARISTOTLE
TAC Senior Prepares for Career as an
“Ethical Hacker”
After next month’s Commencement, Robert Goyette (’19) will begin working fulltime for Blue Mantle Tech, an IT cybersecurity firm. One may think that an unlikely career move for someone who just spent four years steeped in the great books of Western civilization, but Robert disagrees. “I love giving the liberal arts naysayers my canned response,” he writes on the Blue Mantle company blog. “I might join the cybersecurity workforce before many of my high school classmates majoring in computer science.”
Robert spent the last two summers working for Blue Mantle, and — having recently submitted his Senior Thesis — is now studying for his Offensive Security Certified Professional credential, enabling him to become an “ethical hacker” (that is, one who hacks into networks in order to test their security, and not for malicious purposes).
“Maybe knowing all the current technical intricacies isn’t the most important ingredient in a cyber professional, or in any career,” writes Robert. “Because knowing yesterday’s technologies and methodologies won’t necessarily help solve today’s problems.” Instead, he posits some even more valuable skills for an IT professional’s “cybersecurity toolbox,” such as “the desire to learn more, to think outside the box, to analyze problems and fabricate solutions, and to think critically.”
Full story
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Robert Goyette ('19)
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