Dinner opened with grace, led by Summer Program Chaplain Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem. (’94). The programmers dug into the feast, sipping on sparkling apple cider and enjoying the menu of grilled salmon, tortellini, salad, and roasted potatoes.
After everyone finished eating, the academic director of the Summer Program, TAC Tutor Brian Dragoo, rose to say a few words about what the students have accomplished in these past two weeks. “You’ve made close friends. You’ve read great books and learned to discuss them in a disciplined but honest way,” Mr. Dragoo told the high schoolers. “And you’ve probably been pretty surprised at the depth and beauty available to us through reading and discussing these books.” The students cheered and applauded in gratitude for Mr. Dragoo, as well as for the tutors, prefects, and Admissions counselors who made the last two weeks possible.
The high schoolers left the banquet to attend Adoration in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, offering their gratitude to the true Author of all their joy. They prayed the Rosary together one last time, then knelt in silence or went to confession as a choir of their prefects filled the Chapel with beautiful hymns and chant. The students took time to humbly thank God for all the gifts they have received during their time at TAC before returning to the festivities.
To kick off the evening’s events, there was entertainment in the Fitz B. Burns Auditorium, where the prefects performed a skit full of Summer Program inside jokes, bickering over Euclidean terminology and referencing Pascal’s Wager. A few of the students from last week’s Open-Mic Night then took to the stage to give encore performances. The talented students played classical and country music on the guitar and a jazzy piano piece composed on the spot! For the grand finale, some of the prefect men staged a hilarious spoof, dancing and lip-syncing as the Shakespearean boy band “The Renaissance Boys.”
After the entertainment, the dancing began! Students danced under strings of lights on St. Gladys Hall patio as music played. Energy and spirits high, the programmers waltzed, swung, and line danced long into the night. Finally able to put their dance moves to good use, they pulled one another onto the dance floor, twirling, dipping, and stepping to the beat. Later in the evening, the partiers briefly paused their dancing to sing an early “Happy Birthday” and present a cake to Josef I., who would turn 17 in just a few short hours.
