College offers students unique opportunities, chances to experience life and explore their community, their world, and their faith. Aquinas strives to foster such an environment, through which students may stretch and grow to find their true selves. Take Zach Jones, a senior biology major who will give the closing prayer at the 2014 commencement ceremony.

Initially, Jones found Aquinas through alumni friends. Upon further investigation, he found the school’s Catholic identity and open community to be major factors in his decision. “My Catholic faith was a really important part of my high school experience,” he said, “so the fact that Aquinas was a Catholic school intrigued me. Ultimately, it was the small-school feel; the campus was beautiful, and I could tell that everyone was happy to be there. It really stood out to me on my tour - that this place felt like a community. The tour guide was saying hi to everyone, and they all seemed genuinely happy.”

Upon coming to Aquinas, Jones quickly joined a variety of campus organizations. Over the past four years, he has worked at the Grace Hauenstein Library, served as treasurer for both Catholic Life Club and Abandon Praise & Worship, as an officer for the Insignis, and was a nurse’s aide for a year.

However, amidst all of these organizations, Jones emphasized his participation in student group AQ Light as special and noteworthy in his Aquinas experience. “We put on retreats for middle school and high school students,” he said, “and a lot of them are confirmation retreats for local parishes and schools. I was a member for sophomore year, and I’ve been a leader for both junior and senior years. It’s a group of 30 to 40 students, and is kind of a faith community in itself. We spend the first part of the year planning the retreats, and then November through the end of the school year implementing and revising them. Generally, the retreats combine large group games with small group discussions and activities, trying to get students to think about their faith in a different way, to show them that it’s relevant to them in their everyday lives. We’re not just trying to teach them theology 101, it’s something that can be applied.”

Living faith must be put into action and Jones has taken this message to heart, traveling two times to the Dominican Republic on service-learning trips. Moreover, he served as the trip’s student leader in his junior year. “It was one of my best experiences at Aquinas,” he said, “not only going on that trip twice, but helping others as a leader to have an incredible cultural and spiritual experience, connecting with people of a totally different culture and background. My eyes were opened by it, and it was great to see everyone else experiencing and expressing it.”

“Service is such a huge part of the student culture here,” he said, “I don’t think you can go through Aquinas without having some sort of service experience. There’s a reason we call it “service-learning,” because when you help the community it has a huge impact on you as well. It really does form servant leaders, and I think that’s the culture at Aquinas - to foster leadership through service. That’s been my experience, and I’m sure others would agree.”

As a senior, Jones has a difficult time reconciling that graduation has nearly arrived. “I can’t believe that the Aquinas part of my life is ending,” he said, “I’ve been so immersed in the life here and the community. But I think it’s definitely prepared me for what’s next, and it feels like it’s time.” He will continue to live in Grand Rapids this fall, attending the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program at Grand Valley State University. “My studies at Aquinas have been a lot of work,” he said, “but I definitely feel well-prepared for graduate school. It’s been really hard, but I feel that I’ve grown from it.”

Drawing from his time here, Jones gives this advice to any who may consider Aquinas as their school of choice. “This community has a lot to offer,” he said, “in terms of your growth as a person, and you’ll get as much out of it as you put in. I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by how much fun it’s been and how much I’ve gotten out of it. I would not change it for the world!”