Qualities of a Graduate

List of 4 items.

• Scholarship

  St. Thomas More studied the classics, languages, history, mathematics, and law during his time at university. He continually gave lectures and wrote letters on legal and religious topics. St. Thomas More graduates work to follow More’s scholarly example, understanding that learning is a life-long process in all its facets.
  
  Therefore, St. Thomas More graduates:
  

  • Explore opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit.
  • Remain intellectually curious.
  • Seek truth throughout their lifetime, think critically, and solve problems creatively and analytically.
  • Integrate their personal, social, academic, and spiritual lives with maturity, honesty, intentionality, and responsibility.
  • Strive to excel in their academics while utilizing their knowledge to understand the complexities of the modern world.
  • Demonstrate a mastery of the academic requirements for success in higher education, vocational work, and life beyond high school.

• Christian Discipleship

  St. Thomas More was devoted to his Catholic faith and lived as a Professed Secular Franciscan, dedicating himself, like St. Francis, to a life of simplicity, poverty, and fraternity with everyone and all of creation. With a pervasive sense of joy in the Lord, he devoted himself to prayer and to sharing the good news of the Gospel to all who would hear it.
  
  Responding to God’s call to holiness in their lives, St. Thomas More graduates:
  

  • Imitate Christ by being open to God’s will in their lives.
  • Cultivate an interior life of penance through consistent honest self-reflection and prayer.
  • Grow in knowledge of the Catholic Faith and participate in the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.
  • Love, serve, and forgive others and promote solidarity and peace.
  • Develop a fuller understanding and respect for Catholicism while respecting the religions of others.

• Citizenship

  St. Thomas More became a loyal servant to the king and community, serving as a Member of Parliament and eventually as the Chancellor of England. His fair and pragmatic practice of the law made him one of the most respected judges of the Court for his ability to uphold the law without attacking the person. In addition, he never sacrificed his beliefs to benefit or advance the plans of others or his own. As a result, More, like St. Francis, became a citizen servant, acting for others before himself.
  
  Therefore, St. Thomas More graduates:
  

  • Lead by serving others spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
  • Commit humbly to social justice, particularly serving the sick and poor.
  • Dedicate their efforts towards being active, responsible citizens who build and participate in a thriving community.
  • Respect and learn from all individuals in today’s diverse, global community.

• Men and Women for All Seasons

  St. Thomas More’s good friend and schoolteacher, Robert Whittington, called More “a man for all seasons,” for he was able to be flexible and adapt to all sorts of company without sacrificing his own identity. As a result, More was a man “suited to all hours, times, and occasions” because of his intelligence and cheery disposition.
  
  Therefore, St. Thomas More graduates:
  

  • Live lives of integrity, never sacrificing their identity for the benefit of others.
  • Sustain a balance of humility and confidence in all their endeavors.
  • Depend upon God for all things.
  • Preserve their solidarity with whom they interact in today’s diverse, global community.
  • Display fortitude in times of personal and social strife and challenges.
  • Uphold favorable qualities such as loyalty, trustworthiness, cheerfulness, and friendship.