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About
Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
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A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of Thomas Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
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Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
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Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC — something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
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Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Meet the Summer Program Prefects: Kristina Turicchi (’23)
Next in our series profiling the prefects for the 2022 High School Summer Program in California is rising senior Kristina Turicchi.
Kristina grew up in Santa Barbara, California, with her two younger sisters, but she now calls Pasadena her home. In neither city, however, was she ever far from Thomas Aquinas College. “I heard about TAC from my dad; I had my First Communion up here, and was often on campus for graduations,” she explains. “Those were my first glimpses of the College.”
With TAC virtually in her backyard, Kristina experienced a slight hesitation about attending the College. “I told myself, ‘I’m not going to TAC, it’s not for me,’” she says. “But my dad said, ‘Just go to the Summer Program.’” Then, she adds with a laugh, “They got me. I fell in love.”
Kristina enjoyed everything the 2018 Summer Program offered, both the classes and the community. “I knew that TAC was a good Catholic college, but until the Summer Program I had little sense of what the academics were really like,” she recalls. She was particularly nervous about demonstrating Euclid’s geometry at the blackboard but, at the Summer Program, she found TAC’s approach to mathematics to be liberating. “You don’t think you can do it, but then you do,” she grins. “And you keep thinking, ‘Wow, I did it!’ That was my first intellectual awakening.”
Nor was Kristina alone in that experience: Her fellow attendees were also waking up to the beauty of the intellectual life, and that shared encounter with truth provided a fertile ground for friendship. “In the classroom, you got to see one side of people, but then outside, going on all the fun adventures and trips, you saw another,” Kristina says. “I honestly think my favorite part was riding the bus to all the outings, singing with my friends. That’s where a lot of the bonding happened.”
When the Summer Program concluded, Kristina’s mind was made up: She wanted to go to Thomas Aquinas College. “I finished my application and didn’t apply anywhere else,” she laughs. Since returning to TAC as a freshman in 2019, she has worked twice as a Summer Program prefect, and she’s excited for the 2022 program. “Have fun!” she tells attendees. “I definitely over-stressed about class when I was an attendee, but you don’t need to stress. You’re not getting graded, you’re just here to learn!”
Kristina knows how to have fun herself. Besides running cross-country and skiing, she loves basketball, and her skills will strengthen the prefect team in the prefect-attendee basketball game this summer. “It’s wonderful to show what TAC has to offer,” she says, “and to reveal all the reasons why I love the College.”