TRIUMPH!
At the end of the first semester of their freshman year, members of the Thomas Aquinas College Class of 2021 encountered the first of several natural disasters that would come to characterize their time at the College: The Thomas Fire threatened the California campus, and students were evacuated, then forced to go home early for the semester.
When they returned, they would have to contend with the threat of flooding, mudslides, and another evacuation. The next year, high winds — like those that caused the Thomas Fire — led the electric company to cut power to the region, leaving the campus dark, sometimes for days at a time.
Then came junior year and COVID-19. Students were sent home early once again, completing their classes via Zoom, a tolerable solution that no one wanted to repeat.
So in this, their senior year, members of the Class of 2021 bore graciously the testing, the quarantines, the ever-shifting social-distancing and masking guidelines, outdoor Masses, outdoor classes, and limited access off campus — all in order to maintain in-person classes.
Their sacrifice paid off. They completed the year. They completed their studies. And they have completed the College’s program of Catholic liberal education.
Congratulations, members of the TAC Class of 2021! You’ve earned it.
May God bless you on your way.