Meet the Summer Program Prefects: Anna Santschi (’24)

Next in our ongoing series introducing the prefects for the 2022 High School Summer Program in New England is rising junior Anna Santschi.

The seventh of nine children, Anna first learned of 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.

Anna’s was the inaugural Summer Program on the New England campus in 2019. Although she greatly enjoyed kayaking on the Connecticut River and exploring Boston, she was captivated most of all by the glimpse into the College’s intellectual life. “I fell in love with the texts! I had never really been exposed to the Great Books before,” she says. “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. “I chose the Massachusetts campus because I prefer cold weather and didn’t want to give up the four seasons!”

This will be Anna’s first time as a Summer Program prefect, and she is thrilled. “I’m hoping to give other high schoolers the same experience I had,” she says. “I’m especially looking forward to discussing the readings with the attendees.”