Sophomores Lift Spirits at Ice Cream Social

The California Class of 2026 got together in St. Patrick’s Coffee Shop on the evening of November 8 for some well-earned relaxation — and ice cream!

The sophomore curriculum at Thomas Aquinas College is a challenge at every level. Students unpack Aristotle’s famously difficult account of motion in general, as well as Ptolemy’s attempt to rationalize the specific motions of the heavens. They dive into the foundations of atomic theory and the history and literature of classical Rome and the early Middle Ages, all while grappling with St. Augustine’s sobering theology of nature, grace, and predestination.

Confronting these and other subjects in the classroom is rewarding, but exhausting, work — and what better restoratives are there than fellowship and ice cream? Sophomores crowded into the coffee shop, sampling a wide array of treats and enjoying each other’s company, reminding each other why they came to the College in the first place. “It was good to talk to my section-mates outside of class,” said Madeline Holewa (’26). “We got into why we read what we’re reading, and why it’s important.”