91�����

�When I left Ireland and came to Canada, I was 16 years old, and two things struck me: the amount of liberty that you have in North America and the wealth that is present,� reflects Dr. Paul J. O�Reilly, president of 91����� Aquinas College, in a of the Classic Learning Test�s Anchored podcast. �It had an effect on me. That�s what I wanted. I wanted to be a wealthy man. That was my goal: pursue the Almighty Dollar, and I was accepted in a very good business school until the Lord, and then my mother, intervened.�

At his mother�s suggestion, a priest recommended that Dr. O�Reilly, whose family had fled to Canada to escape the Troubles in Belfast, spend a relaxing week in Southern California. �I fell for that trap,� Dr. O�Reilly laughs � and his life would never be the same.

�I visited 91����� Aquinas College in early 1980,� he continues. His initial thought, he admits, was �These people are very strange.� To be sure, they were �very good� and �extraordinarily kind,� but also unlike any college-age students he had ever met before. They were �very dedicated to their studies,� exhibited �real piety,� and just seemed �kind of weird.�

But his perspective would soon change. �I sat in on class, I met some of the faculty, and then I realized over four or five days that they weren�t strange at all. I was worldly,� Dr. O�Reilly concluded. �I was living for the world, and here was a place that was offering me something much more important, something perennial.�

Over the course of his 30-minute conversation with Jeremy Tate, founder and CEO of the � as well as an enthusiastic champion of the College � Dr. O�Reilly shares his life story: how his family endured violence and persecution, how he unexpectedly became a TAC student, and how this journey would ultimately lead to his becoming a husband, a scholar, a father of 12, and the College�s president.

Dr. O�Reilly and Mr. Tate also discuss the history of 91����� Aquinas College and the nature of its program of Catholic liberal education. As an entrepreneur himself, Mr. Tate is especially fascinated by the example of the College�s own founders � Dr. Ronald P. McArthur, Dr. John W. Neumayr, Marcus R. Berquist, and Peter L. DeLuca � some of whom sacrificed tenured positions, and all of whom risked financial insecurity, to bring their vision to life. �It was a remarkable venture of faith,� says Dr. O�Reilly. �I thank God for those four men, because without them I don�t think we would have the renaissance in Catholic education that we now have.�

�I was living for the world, and here was a place that was offering me something much more important, something perennial.�

The College has flourished in the 52 years since its founders� initial act of faith, nearing the completion of its California campus and the opening a second campus in Massachusetts in 2019. But its true legacy, observes Mr. Tate, remains the quality of its alumni. �Before ever going to campus, I would say, �TAC is my favorite college I�ve never been to,� because I knew the curriculum and I knew graduates,� he adds. When speaking to those graduates, he often finds himself thinking, �You�re some of the most thoughtful people I�ve ever had a conversation with.�

Dr. O�Reilly also describes how the College�s academic program and, in particular, its use of the Discussion Method, engenders that thoughtfulness. �We demand that the students hold themselves accountable to the text,� he explains. �They can�t just simply express their feelings about it but must root their comments and considerations in the text.� Submitting ideas to the scrutiny of both a teacher and their peers trains students to express themselves clearly, to accept correction humbly, and to walk confidently toward the truth. Four years of such formation, Dr. O�Reilly notes, �produces graduates who are thoughtful, well-considered, and adaptive in their thinking.�

While a TAC education might not be for everyone, Dr. O�Reilly encourages all would-be college students to consider it, either by participating in the College�s High School Summer Program or visiting one of its campuses. �If it�s right for you, it will become very clear it�s right for you. If it�s not, that will also become clear, but you will not regret having done it.�