Weekend Recap with Five Slideshows!

Friday’s classes focused on works by Fabre and St. Thomas Aquinas, with students discussing the connection between the natural order and God’s divine plan. They also analyzed Pascal’s Wager, and how a person not inclined to faith might be persuaded to believe. Classes were followed by a restful period and then a dramatic — and oftentimes, hilarious — reading of Macbeth in St. Bernardine of Siena Library. The students shone in their chosen roles, and prefects provided some comedic entertainment at the end of each act with a brief summary and skits from their own play, How Macbeth got his Groove Back:

After the show came the evening Rosary, followed by a trip to one of the campus ponds for a bonfire, sing-along, and ice-cream sandwiches:

Said student Gabby Douglass of Stillwater, Minn.: “Thomas Aquinas College is a place where you make friends you never want to say goodbye to.” Or, as her classmate Jorge O. Moncada Hernandez, of Oxnard, Calif., put it: “The Summer Program is a life-changing experience and it makes you feel at home.”

The next morning, many students gathered early for a 2.5-mile hike to the “Punch Bowls” in the adjacent Los Padres National forest:

Meanwhile, others stayed closer to campus and painted with watercolors in the nearby “painter’s shack.” Afterward, all enjoyed a tri-tip barbeque prepared by Admissions Director Jon Daly. The evening ended with some sports, the Rosary, and then a movie and popcorn on the St. Joseph Commons patio.

Sunday morning began with Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, accompanied by the Thomas Aquinas College Choir. Students then prepared for Monday’s classes by reading Euclid and Macbeth before heading off for a day of adventure …

First stop: Rincon Beach, which is about a 45-minute bus drive from campus and surrounded by cliffs with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. The weather was slightly cloudy, but the sun broke through soon enough. Highlights of the trip included volleyball, Frisbee, football, swimming, and snorkeling:

Second stop: Santa Barbara, where students enjoyed dinner at various spots of their choosing: family-style Italian at Palazzio’s, burgers at The Habit, a local Lebanese restaurant, and others. Prefects then led students down State Street for shopping and ice cream:

At the end of the trip, students and prefects gathered at Stearns Wharf for a group photo, after which Prefect Andrea Florez (’14) surprised one student who was celebrating his birthday with cupcakes lit by candles. The entire group launched into singing “Happy Birthday,” and some passersby joined in the chorus. In the buses on the way back to campus, the group prayed the Rosary, and upon returning to the campus, all were grateful to call it a night after a delightful — but full! — day.