A group of University of St. Thomas students traveled to the University of Notre Dame in fall 2025 to attend the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture’s 25th annual Fall Conference, an interdisciplinary gathering that explores the role of tradition in shaping contemporary intellectual, cultural and spiritual life.
The conference, titled “That Which I Also Received: Living Tradition,” examined how living tradition — whether religious, philosophical, literary, artistic or cultural — serves as a bridge between past and future. Students and faculty attended three days of panels, lectures and keynote addresses alongside scholars, artists and practitioners from across the country.
The UST delegation included undergraduate and graduate students from a wide range of programs, including philosophy, theology, history, business, English, studio arts and finance. While many participants are members of the Honors Program, the trip was open to students across the university. They even ran into UST faculty who were already attending.
Dorothea Jacoby, UST alumna and staff member with the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture, accompanied the students.
“Those planning the trip reached out to anyone they could think of who might be interested in attending,” she said.
Students expressed interest in attending the conference months in advance and worked together to plan the trip and secure funding. Support from the Student Government Treasury Board and the History Department made the experience possible.
During the course of three days, attendees chose from multiple concurrent panels during each time slot, with evening keynote addresses bringing the entire conference together. Keynote speakers included Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect for the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris; Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and author Zena Hitz, whose work some UST students had previously studied in their courses.
Students also had the opportunity to speak with Bishop Flores after his keynote address, during which he reflected on his time teaching at UST and St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston.
For many students, the experience extended beyond academic enrichment.
“This trip was more of a pilgrimage than a regular conference trip,” said Eduardo Vega, a senior majoring in philosophy and pre-law. “We attended Mass on all of the days we were there and learned about the tradition of our faith as Catholics. The conference was full of academics whose life’s work truly embodies the mission of the liberal arts, and we had the opportunity to experience what a life devoted to working within the liberal arts would look like.”
Vega said the experience was especially meaningful for students studying the humanities.
“Being a student of the humanities in today’s world can be intimidating, but after this conference we all felt nourished and validated for studying something that has a living tradition we are a part of that will live beyond the technological age,” he said.
Anna Blubaugh, a junior majoring in history, said the conference left a lasting impression.
“I attended not knowing exactly what to expect, but during the three days of the conference I was consistently impressed and moved by the dedication of professors, students, and other attendees who came from all across the country to learn about the role of tradition in all aspects of life,” Blubaugh said. “My hope is that we will have started a UST tradition that involves taking a group of students every year to this conference.”
Sophomore English major Emi Marchisio highlighted the intellectual breadth of the conference and its impact on students’ confidence in their studies.
“This conference was truly a refreshing and intellectually energizing experience that I am very grateful for,” Marchisio said.
Marchisio recalled a lecture by UST faculty member Ryan Wilson that resonated deeply.
“Like Aeneas, we must fight through the flames to find our Anchises. We will be tempted to remain in the collapsing Troy, but we cannot. We must find our way out, bringing the past to the future,” she said, paraphrasing Wilson’s remarks. “I know that I speak for my fellow students as well as myself when I say that we all returned to UST feeling more confident about why we are studying what we’re studying.”
Graduate student Venanzio Petrarolo said the conference demonstrated the strength of the liberal arts education students receive at UST.
“It was a great chance to get a glimpse of the height of Catholic intelligentsia in the United States,” Petrarolo said. “As such, I can say that our liberal arts education at UST put me and my travelling companions in good stead for participation in the conference.”
Jacoby noted that although she was the only non-student traveling with the group, many UST faculty members were also in attendance at the conference, several of whom presented their own scholarly work. Dr. Tim Furlan, director of Center for Ethical Leadership, attended while these faculty members present: Dr. Randall Smith, Theology; Tamara Nicholl-Smith, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA); Dr. Kevin Stuart, director of The Nesti Center of Faith and Culture and director of the Master of Public Policy & Administration Program; Sr. Theresa Marie Chau Viet Nguyen, O.P., Theology; Ryan Wilson, MFA in Creative Writing; Joshua Hren, MFA in Creative Writing; Brigid Psulka, MFA in Creative Writing.
Students in attendance included Venanzio Petrarolo, graduate student, Master of Liberal Arts; Thomas Rider, graduate student, theology; Sal Aquila, graduate student, philosophy and theology; Sebastian Moreno, senior, finance and economics; Eduardo Vega, senior, philosophy and pre-law; Diego Trevino, senior, management and theology; Anna Blubaugh, junior, history; John Paul Le, junior, philosophy and pre-med; Cecilia Munoz, junior, studio arts and art history; Emi Marchisio, sophomore, English.
For the students, the combination of academic rigor and shared community in faith made the experience especially meaningful.
“I can’t think of a better group to have gone with,” Petrarolo said. “The joining of the intellectual life with friendship and camaraderie is truly edifying.”