LIBERAL EDUCATION & ENTREPRENEURS
Alumna Offers Students Advice on Starting a Small Business
 
Alumna entrepreneur Sarah (De Laveaga ’14) Ellefson returned to campus in the waning days of the fall semester to deliver what she billed as “the talk I wish I heard” while still in school — “Five Tips for Starting a Creative Business after College.”

A successful wedding, family, and travel photographer based in Santa Barbara, Mrs. Ellefson discussed how students can begin preparing now — even amidst their studies — to launch their own businesses post-graduation. Her tips included finding a mentor, learning about the market, developing a brand, and pursuing summer internships. Moreover, many of the skills required to become a successful business owner, she observed, can be developed as a student. “If you can set up good habits and discipline now,” she advised, “when you start your own business and you have a huge task list of things to run down, you’re going to know how to manage your time.”

Although encouraging, Mrs. Ellefson’s comments were also practical, warning students that creating a business demands hard work, a significant investment of time and resources, and — more often than not — a day job to cover the bills until the business is self-sufficient. “I think if you’re a student here, you’re not used to things being easy, so I don’t expect you to be intimidated by this,” she said. “I want you to get excited about it and know that the hard work and diligence you’re putting in here can also transfer into starting your own business.”
 
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“DORM TALKS”
Series Features Discussions of Beauty, Intelligence & Sanctity

This fall marked a strong start for the annual Women’s Dorm Talk Series, which Resident Assistant Jeannette Richard (’17) and Student Activities Director Kayla Grimm (’20) organize for the women of Thomas Aquinas College. The semester featured four talks, all presented by members of the College community: “Marian Consecration: By Being Bound We are Free,” by Sarah Dufresne (’14); “Humility and Hope in Discussion (Or, Why You Should Not Worry About How Smart You Are),” by Dr. Margaret Hughes; “Loving the Beautiful in the Age of Distraction,” by Mary Ann (Hastings ’03) Shivone; and “The Spiritual Little Brother of St. Thérèse of Lisieux,” by Suzie Andres (’87).

Now in its fourth year, the Dorm Talks typically consist of a 45-minute presentation, refreshments, and a question-and-answer session that has, on occasion, run well into the night. “These informal talks provide spiritual and moral guidance to the female students to complement the rigorous intellectual studies we have here, and help foster relationships between the girls and the female tutors, tutor wives, and other female role models in the College community,” says Miss Richard. “I am so grateful to all the wonderful women who have come to share their wisdom and spend an evening with the girls. They are all such lovely examples of Catholic womanhood!”

Adds sophomore Shelby Heaton, “The Dorm talks are edifying and entertaining. It’s wonderful and refreshing to have a variety of such lovely women take time to come speak to us.”

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FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College's Alumni Blog

• Add two more titles to the honorifics that Dr. Paul W. White (’95) has earned over the course of his career as a physician and officer in the United States Army: “Colonel” and “Consultant to the Surgeon General for Vascular Surgery.” In 2006 Dr. White began a two-year fellowship in vascular surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Today he serves as the fellowship’s director, training the Army’s general surgeons to become vascular surgeons by teaching the latest methods in research, testing, imaging, and surgery, both endovascular and conventional. In this capacity he became, in 2016, the consultant to the Surgeon General, and last June he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

• In late October, alumna Genevieve Morlino (’17), along with her brother Dominic (’21) and their family, traveled to Rome for what she describes as “a rather momentous event” — the canonization of a family member. “St. Katharina Kasper started the Congregation of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ in Germany in 1850, and her order has spread throughout the world,” writes Miss Morlino. “My mom and her sisters are some of her closest living relatives.” Miss Morlino’s late grandmother attended St. Katharina’s beatification in 1978. There she met His Holiness Paul VI, who presided over the beatification and whom, in God’s providence, His Holiness Pope Francis also canonized this October, alongside St. Katharina. “When we heard she was being canonized,” says Miss Morlino, “we all knew we had to go.”

• On January 2 the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Mary Bridget Neumayr (’86) as the new chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Widely considered the administration’s senior environmental official, the CEQ chairman coordinates the country’s environmental policy and oversees regulations across various federal agencies. Miss Neumayr has been effectively functioning as the council’s chairman since her appointment last year, one year after being named its chief of staff. At her confirmation hearings last summer, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, indirectly referenced her parents — Thomas Aquinas College co-founder John W. Neumayr and his wife, Bridget — as well as her alma mater. “The roots of her qualities reflect her loving and vibrant family,” he said, “and her faith and thoughtful education.”

ANNUAL REPORT
“To Rekindle in Ourselves the Passion and Vision of our Founding Mission”

Dear Friends of Thomas Aquinas College,

Over the past few weeks, much of the talk here on campus has been centered around our new campus. Next fall, by the grace of God, we will enroll the first students to Thomas Aquinas College, New England. Please keep them, and all those involved in this undertaking, in your prayers.

Here in Santa Paula, there has also been much to be thankful for. During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which closed on June 30, the Thomas Aquinas College community came safely through the Thomas Fire and the ensuing mudslides. Significant grants from the Edwin L. Wiegand Trust and the Dan Murphy Foundation, along with many generous contributions from private benefactors, have aided us in restoring and improving the campus. …

Most importantly, through all of these changes, the work of the College has continued. As you review our audited financial statements for 2017-2018, I hope you will remember all of the good work that they represent. Thanks to your generosity, our students have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of our alumni, who carry the mission of the College into the wider world in so many different ways. Your support and your prayers are truly the instruments of God’s grace for us. On behalf of all of our students, faculty, and staff, I thank you.

Sincerely,
Michael F. McLean
President

Full letter from Dr. McLean
Audited financial statements