High School Summer Program: Meet the Prefects, Part 2

Following up on last week’s post, we now continue our introduction of the 2023 New England High School Summer Program prefects! And there are still a few spots remaining for this year’s expanded program, so if you are interested, apply today!

Stephen Brown (’25) hails from from Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives with his seven siblings, alongside whom he was homeschooled via the Mother of Divine Grace distance-learning program, which led him to the 2020 Summer Program on the New England campus. “It was a big factor in my decision to come, and I’m still great friends with some of my fellow attendees, as well as with some of the prefects,” he says. Tasting the Great Books and the Discussion Method solidified Stephen’s attraction to College’s program of Catholic liberal education, and he applied soon thereafter, returning to Northfield in the fall of 2021. Working his second Summer Program as a prefect, Stephen is especially looking forward to teaching the attendees to swing dance — and maybe to waltz and foxtrot along the way. “Dance has really become my main hobby!” he laughs. Look out for Stephen in the Socratic discussions and on the dance floor!

“Education for its own sake was completely contrary to all the notions that I had developed at my public high school,” says Jonahs Chavez (’22). But as his two older siblings attended Thomas Aquinas College and came back talking about all kinds of remarkable ideas about God, nature, and the soul, Jonahs revisited his former dismissiveness — aided, that is, by the 2017 Summer Program. “It was important for me to get a taste of the College,” he says. “I recognized the gravity and importance of an education like this. That alone was enough to make me only consider TAC after high school.” Jonahs has been a regular among the Summer Program prefects ever since. “It’s especially fun, because the people I will be meeting this year are the next generation of students,” he says. Both athletic and artistic, Jonahs will be an equally amiable companion on the soccer field and in Boston’s art museums.

“Even though I loved my experience at the Summer Program, I wasn’t originally planning to go to TAC,” recalls Georgiana Egan (’24). A lifelong New Yorker, she was hoping to remain in the Empire State as a student at New York University. “But about a week before NYU’s decision came out, I made a deal with God: If I got into NYU, I would defer my acceptance to take a gap year.” Georgiana had planned to spend that year traveling throughout Europe, but the pandemic had other plans. “As I was trying to figure out what to do instead, my mother suggested that I spend my gap year at TAC because, even though I had decided not to attend the school for college, I had loved my time at the Summer Program.” That was all it took: Georgiana had promised God a gap year, but He was offering a longer and better stay. “By October, I finally had to admit to myself what I previously had been refusing to accept: I had to stay.”

“The Summer Program was truly a great experience for me, but I wasn't sold on attending,” admits Martin O'Heir (’25). “I went to community college to study computer science.” But Martin's time at community college in his home of Castleton, Virginia, coincided with the worst of the pandemic lockdowns, which gave him second thoughts. “The coursework wasn't exciting me, and, with classes being online, I had a hard time communicating with my professors,” he recalls. “I eventually decided I wanted to do something else.” Fortunately, there was a spot available in the Class of 2025 — just when he needed it. Now entering his junior year and his second Summer Program as a prefect, Martin is quite pleased with his decision! “What struck me when I attended the Summer Program was how quickly I became accustomed to TAC life,” he says. “I want that for the high schoolers attending this year.”

“I found my way to Thomas Aquinas College through architecture,” says Meg Murphy (CA’22). “My interest in the field realized an interest in me to learn so many other things first!” Meg has spent much of the last year restoring historic buildings to their original grandeur for John Canning & Co., which demands attention to detail as well as an eye for the beautiful — both of which she nurtured at Thomas Aquinas College, California. Although she graduated in 2022, Meg is thrilled to give back as a prefect for the New England Summer Program. “I look forward to sharing what I love and value about TAC from the perspective of a recent graduate,” she says. “I challenge all the programmers to give themselves to the readings and the classes.”

The seventh of nine children, Anna Santschi (’24) first learned about Thomas Aquinas College from her parents, who had long kept their eyes on the small but growing gamut of faithfully Catholic colleges across the country. “My dad recommended TAC to me, so I decided to attend the Summer Program to check it out,” she explains. “I fell in love with the texts! I had never really been exposed to the Great Books before,” she adds. “I also really enjoyed the Socratic method. It was a lot of fun reading amazing works and then coming to class to go further into the readings than I ever would have made it on my own.” The curriculum and the community captured Anna’s heart, as did the beauty of New England, and she is excited to share all three with the attendees of the 2023 Summer Program. “I’m especially looking forward to discussing the readings with the attendees.”

When Trinity Duggan’s (’24) parents heeded the inspiration of Our Lady Guadalupe to send their daughters to Chesterton Academy of Annapolis, a classical liberal arts school, rather than continue homeschooling, Trinity, “was not happy about the last-minute switch.” But before long, she was singing a different tune. “By the end of the first quarter, I realized I really enjoyed the liberal arts,” she says. When an admissions counselor from the College visited her school to promote the New England campus, therefore, Trinity “was immediately sold on the idea of studying the classics more, and without having to go to California!” Since coming to the College, Trinity has grown in more than her intellectual life. Despite having come with deep stage fright, “this past year, I sang at Schubertiade, played Olivia in Twelfth Night, and sang as Papagena in The Magic Flute. Safe to say,” she adds with a laugh, “I’m very grateful to Our Lady of Guadalupe!”