A small-world connection played a part in drawing University of St. Thomas student Vincent Wiegman ’27 to the Twin Cities from the Kansas City area: his middle school science teacher.
Minnesota native and St. Thomas Senior Admissions Counselor Annie Dockendorf taught in the Kansas City area for nearly two years before joining St. Thomas in June 2022.
“Working in higher education has always appealed to me,” she explained of her career transition. “I love working closely with students, and I was excited about the opportunity to help students discern their next adventure in life. Admissions felt like a great fit!”
Wiegman was unaware that Dockendorf had taken on an admissions counselor role.
He initially had expressed interest in St. Thomas based on the reputation of St. Thomas’ actuarial science program in the College of Arts and Sciences, had been accepted and was still deciding where to attend school.
In class one day at his high school, he received an email from Dockendorf and was shocked to see her name as the sender.
“It was a crazy reconnection when I saw her email about St. Thomas,” Wiegman said. “A few weeks later, when Annie visited my high school, we caught up and talked about what St. Thomas had to offer. It clicked that this might be the school for me.”
Since starting at St. Thomas, Wiegman has helped with Admissions Department meetings in Kansas City, and Dockendorf has been a resource for him on the St. Thomas campus.
“Vincent is a student you remember – compassionate, confident and strong in conviction. He was well respected among his peers, even at that young age, for always doing the right thing,” Dockendorf said. “He was so intentional about the college decision process, taking time to ask important questions and discern the right path for him. We are fortunate that he decided to be a Tommie. Vincent exemplifies our mission, considering the common good in all he does. I couldn’t be more proud of who he is and the work he is doing.”
Finding community and embracing the Twin Cities
Beyond his studies, Wiegman is actively involved in the St. Thomas community. He’s a member of a cappella group The Summit Singers and the Honors Program. Since Wiegman is minoring in Catholic studies, he joined that department’s Guadalupe’s Scholars Program.
A Guadalupe’s Scholars Program retreat the first weekend of his freshman year helped ease the transition to college life in a new city.
“I made friends who I still talk to today. They have been great supporters and we’ve helped each other,” Wiegman said. “Those first weeks it really helped a lot to see familiar faces. Now we report back to each other on what we’ve been doing. It truly feels like a family.”
Wiegman’s favorite things to do in the Twin Cities are play basketball and eat signature burgers. As a basketball fan, he enjoyed seeing the Minnesota Timberwolves’ success this past season. Whenever his dad comes to visit from Kansas City, they try Juicy Lucys at various restaurants and give their personal ratings. (Their top choice so far is Matt’s Bar.)
Despite his joy exploring the Twin Cities, there are some things Wiegman misses about home: barbecue and his beloved Kansas City Chiefs. As a result, he spent this summer working as a concession stand supervisor at the football team’s home turf, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
When encouraging others from Kansas City to attend St. Thomas, Wiegman shares many reasons.
“It’s a great environment. The campus is beautiful, and I love the overall beauty of Minnesota,” he said. “When I went on tours of St. Thomas, they talked a lot about the student-to-teacher ratio. I’ve seen that there are not too many students in a class, but then there are also enough students in a class. The faculty are great, have been some of my best mentors, and I’ve gone back to them many times even after taking their classes.”
Now that Wiegman has a year at St. Thomas under his belt, he has advice for the incoming first-year students.
“Be yourself. My mom told me that a lot when I was going off to college, but it wasn’t until probably halfway through the year that I understood what that really meant,” he said. “Be unapologetically yourself and think about what kind of person you want to be. There are going to be ups and downs, but that’s a part of discovering who you are by how you overcome them.”
