California
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May 11, 2024
Friends, families, and loved ones gathered on the California campus of Thomas Aquinas College Saturday to celebrate milestones both personal and institutional.
For the 77 newest members of the College’s alumni, the Class of 2024, the day marked the culmination of a four-year inquiry into the greatest works of natural science, mathematics, literature, philosophy, and theology, taught under the light of the Catholic faith. And for the College itself, the day heralded an auspicious achievement: the 50th Commencement exercises since its founding in 1971.
It was an occasion to thank God for the continued success of the College’s program of Catholic liberal education — by rejoicing in the achievements of those who have most recently completed it.
“Graduates, your parents and I are proud of you,” said Commencement Speaker O. Carter Snead, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, as well as a professor in the University’s Department of Political Science and the director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. “And let us again pause to give thanks for this miraculous network of uncalculated giving and graceful receiving that is Thomas Aquinas College.”
The day began with the Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, for which the Most Rev. Sławomir Szkredka, the newly installed Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles for the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region, served as the principal celebrant and homilist. His Excellency offered the Mass from the Chapel’s marble altar, draped for the first time in beautiful new linens — a gift of the Class of 2024 — while the Thomas Aquinas College Choir lifted the congregation’s hearts and minds to God with splendid hymns and chant.
Photos: Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit
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“This is our moment of thanksgiving, of gratitude for everything that has been accomplished this year on this campus,” said Bishop Szkredka in his homily. “We thank God especially for our graduates, the faculty, their parents, for the work that has been done. And as we pray, we invoke the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Father of the Poor.”
Soon thereafter, the Commencement ceremony began. In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Paul O’Reilly held the Class of 2024 out as a hopeful sign amid the violent unrest that plagues so many other campuses. “Rest assured that, despite the troublesome times we live in, it is not those who make the most noise, organize violent protests, who will have the final impact on our society,” he said. “You should be confident that the men and women who graduate today will, in their quiet way, lead us to a better tomorrow.”
Always bittersweet, this day of farewells was especially so for this year’s graduates, who mourned the absence of Sam Morson (’24), a classmate who died in a car accident after their freshman year. “Sam’s classmates have dedicated this program to his memory and signify his membership in their class with an empty chair among their own,” said Dr. O’Reilly. “May God console his family members who are present with us today, including his parents. … May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
Photos: Commencement Ceremony
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Next, the California Class of 2024’s elected speaker, Andrew Grumbine (’24) came to the stage to deliver the year’s Senior Address. “Living in the truth means being recognized by evil and bitterly hated because of it,” he said. “It means dying to yourself every day, decreasing so that Christ may increase. This sounds daunting, and that’s because it is. But I believe we have been prepared for the challenge.”
After an introduction from Dr. O’Reilly, Professor Snead took the podium to deliver the Commencement Address. “Being TAC students, you rightly appreciate and excel in the life of the mind. And, thus, you may be tempted to think of yourself as simply a mind and a will. … You should resist this temptation,” he advised, encouraging the graduates to seek out and aid those who are in need. “Lift your gaze up from inside and look around you to find the weakest and most vulnerable. They may be in places you never expected or didn’t think to look.”
The ceremony additionally included the recognition of a couple who has been outstanding in its support of Thomas Aquinas College, Heather A. and Milton F. Daily. In gratitude, Chairman of the Board of Governors Scott Turicchi presented Mr. and Mrs. Daily with a bust of St. Albert the Great, signifying their newly awarded membership in the Order of St. Albert — an honor reserved for those benefactors whose generosity to Thomas Aquinas College has been exceptional. “It is fitting that they are surrounded today by their children and grandchildren,” said Mr. Turicchi, “and that they will have their names engraved on the base of the statue of St. Albert overlooking the academic quadrangle.”
As the ceremony continued, the seniors became graduates, receiving their academic hoods and diplomas. President O’Reilly then presented the College’s “Charge to the Graduates,” reminding members of the Class of 2024 of their responsibility for “maintaining, defending, and protecting your Catholic heritage — its faith, its hope, its charity, and all its learning and culture.” In reply, the graduates sang the traditional Non nobis domine, giving the credit for their achievement to God and God alone.
