By Peter Rao ’24
Thomas More College students take advantage of summer vacation to pursue their specific interests through various activities, internships, and work programs. Four returning students share how they chose to challenge themselves outside of the classroom and what they learned from their experiences.
Encountering the Holy Family in the Holy Land by AnneMarie Gerads ’24
This summer, amongst a group praying the Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa—where Christ Himself set each Station—I counted myself as one of the luckiest of pilgrims. I still don’t quite know how I got there. Yes, in the practical sense, I signed up with the pilgrimage group, got on a plane, and was there—but that is not all there is to it. For four years I had been trying to make it to the Holy Land, but as with so many other things, the trip was canceled because of COVID. Then college came, and I was very much the cliché broke college student. But, as I have found out, God has a way of making things work—and He did. I would love to tell all about my experience there; it was unlike any other. We renewed our baptismal vows in the muddy waters of the River Jordan, we followed Our Lady’s journey in the Visitation, we sailed on the Sea of Galilee and ate St. Peter’s fish. But, as many times as I open my mouth to begin gushing about it, I still find myself falling short. On first coming home, I wanted to share what I had found, and—thinking visuals would help—I prepared a slideshow for my family. Halfway through, most of them were asleep, and I can’t blame them. Where I saw the Mount of the Beatitudes—the parabolic “city seated on a mountain” (Matt 5:14 DRA) in the distance, and the Aramaic Our Father chanted by our guides ringing in my ears—all they saw was a pile of rocks. It simply cannot be shared in the same way; one does not go to the Holy Land to see, but to understand. I have traveled, and I have always come back with stories of things I had seen and done, but this time I came back with an understanding: of Christ, of the Bible, and of the Catholic faith. They say that you have to meet someone’s family to really understand them; going to the Holy Land meant meeting Christ’s family. All I can say is that, if you are ever blessed with a chance to go over and meet them as well, you too will understand Him much better.
Writing as a Freelance Journalist by Brendan McDonald ’25
I spent this summer writing articles for various news sites. One career I’m especially looking into after graduation is journalism, as I’m interested in current events and writing. In the spring, I selected outlets that utilize college students as freelancers and set things up. For a given workday, I would pitch two or three of my own story ideas, and if they got approved by the outlet, begin researching and writing them. For all stories you need an “angle” from which to approach it so that, even if another outlet has covered the story, you offer the reader something he hasn’t seen. I would spend roughly ten to fifteen minutes determining the angle and then write, rinse, and repeat. Sometimes the outlet wouldn’t approve the idea immediately. In those cases, I would talk with an editor to clarify what I had in mind. Going into the summer, I planned to work at a restaurant or somewhere close to home and write on the side, but as the first few weeks passed, I found I didn’t need the “regular” job. A significant reason for my attending Thomas More College was its writing program: every course integrates essay writing into the material. I’m amazed at my progress in two short years here, and I thank Thomas More College for teaching me the skills and confidence to dip into a profession I want to explore.
Experiencing the American West by Jacob Naccash ’25
Following our semester in Rome, I—along with Marie Heisler ‘25 and John Shanley ‘25—set out West to work on a farm in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. Arriving on Spiering Farms in late April, we were just in time to begin the annual raking of the fields, during which we cleared out all the debris from the corrugations. Because the farm is in a desert, all the crops rely heavily on irrigation. The raking allows the irrigation water to flow easily through the fields. By the end of May, raking came to an end and two more TMC students, Mary Schnake ‘26 and Greta Schnake ‘27, joined us for the primary job of the summer—roguing. Spiering Farms is a certified weed-free seed farm, and roguing is the front line of defense in the war against weeds. Every day, a team of six to ten people under the strict guidance and training of experienced roguers would walk the fields and hand dig all weeds and other crops from each field. With shovels in hand and sickles on our sides, we prepared each field to be weed-free in preparation for their inspection and eventual harvest. The days of roguing allowed for deep thought, friendly conversation, and appreciation of the beauty of the world around us. I had never been west of Ohio prior to my summer on Spiering Farms, and I will never see East Coast “mountains” the same way again. In every direction while on the farm, we were able to see some of the most incredible natural sites, and mountains that far exceeded the hills I saw growing up in Virginia. Although less frequently, we would also fulfill other jobs as needed and gained some valuable experience through them. The irrigation system would need large pipes put down and picked up again for harvest, and the shop always had some equipment that needed work. Of course, I cannot leave out the highlight of every farmer’s job: getting completely covered in dust and grime by cleaning out combines. The boss would give us a bonus for that task. Outside of work, I also had some incredible opportunities to experience the life and culture of the American West. Watching the Cody Rodeo, driving RTVs through Clarks Fork Canyon, and the very frequent dirt bike rides around the farm all contributed to a full immersion into life in Wyoming.
Taking Practical Steps to Fight Abortion by Anna Conner ’24
This summer, I worked an internship for Consistent Life Network. In my position, I assisted with a project that seeks to pull people out of the influence of Planned Parenthood by displaying documented evidence—such as health violations and malpractice suits—against specific Planned Parenthood locations. My role was to send “report cards” detailing problems with a particular location to schools, health departments, and others that refer people to Planned Parenthood. Of course, we would like to make moral arguments against abortion itself, but since often that will not be heard, this project makes its appeal using the common ground of legal evidence. The schools and health departments that refer to Planned Parenthood do so not only for abortion, but also for other services, so the hope is that women will be referred to alternative, real healthcare centers for those instead. Most immediately, this would reduce Planned Parenthood’s clientele, thus minimizing its lobbying power. The further hope is that, if women are referred to healthcare centers other than Planned Parenthood for non-pregnancy related services, they will be less likely to go straight to Planned Parenthood with pregnancy issues. In other words, they would be discouraged from relying on Planned Parenthood in general and therefore less likely to use it during times of crisis. It was, of course, wonderful to work for the pro-life cause in such a practical way, but the results are still invisible. It will always require prayer and trust in God’s grace to bring about true conversion.
