As the leaves are changing colors, the air is getting cooler, and the middle of the semester approaches, parents of University of St. Thomas students had the chance during Family Weekend to see where their students study, eat and spend time with their friends.
This weekend, Stu and Patti Bloom visited from Waukesha, Wisconsin, outside Milwaukee, to see their daughter Natalie, a freshman and real estate studies major with the Opus College of Business. Enticed by a friend who is now a sophomore at St. Thomas, Natalie joined the Tommie community and has been loving it so far. She said her favorite part of St. Thomas is being a member of the Real Estate Society.
“I have met a lot of good upperclassmen who’ve helped to mentor me and help me make a lot of connections in the workforce,” she said.
Natalie’s mother, Patti, heard of the University of St. Thomas from coworkers who had graduated from the university but said her daughter's enrollment was their first direct connection to the university.
“Just walking through campus, it draws you in. Its beautiful,” Patti said. Patti also noted the wonderful St. Thomas professors: “Natalie was telling us how all her professors know her name. They are all so nice and personable, and I like that, versus being somebody in a hall, and I like that idea for her.”
During Family Weekend, parents participated in a variety of activities with their children from making customized Tommie Tumblers in create[space] and visiting the American Museum of Asmat Art on the second floor of the Anderson Student Center to bowling in the lower level.
One set of parents, Michael and Rachel Krediet, are alums who graduated from St. Thomas with business degrees in 2001 and remember when the grounds where the Anderson Student Center now sits used to be the "H Lot" parking for commuter students. As they visit their daughter Eleanor, a current Tommie and a creative writing major in the College of Arts and Sciences, they marveled at the changes across campus and one of the things that has stayed the same: The Kasota stone that gives St. Thomas architecture its distinctive look.
"I always loved the architecture here," Eleanor said. "I'm glad they are sticking with the same stone, because it makes the architecture and campus so special."
Most of the stone hails from a quarry in Mankato, where Michael grew up and where the Krediet family still live and operate a family-owned construction and remodeling business. They said they looked forward to seeing the new Penny & Lee Anderson Arena, built with the same stone.
Of course there is more to love than the buildings.
"My mom and dad always speak so highly of St. Thomas," Eleanor said. "I heard it throughout my childhood."
When looking for a college for Eleanor, the Krediet family said that while some other schools they considered were close to their home in Mankato, the overall feel of St. Thomas was Eleanor’s speed.
“I felt at home when I came onto campus,” said Eleanor, adding that she made her decision after meeting a lot of people in the English Department and getting a chance to sit in on a creative writing class.
“I like my classes and professors and I like the different options of majors." She added that she also likes the campus activities, especially the random events. "The other day I was walking back to class and they were roasting s'mores at a pop-up event and I was like 'Oh, I may as well have it while it's here.'"
The Krediet family also planned to stop by the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, the new home of the Tommies hockey and basketball teams. In the meantime during family weekend, parents, grandparents and friends joined their students to cheer on the Tommies as the football team recorded another Pioneer Football League victory, defeating Valparaiso University by a final score of 55-17.
