As one of the most beloved St. Thomas Aquinas High School traditions, the Aquinas Star program entered its 36th year with the annual Spaghetti Dinner on Thursday, October 5. The program is a cornerstone of STA’s mission to serve others, in this case doing so by adopting families with children who live with chronic or acute medical conditions. This year, the two Aquinas Stars are 15-year-old Jack Heilich and 4-year-old Domenic Horbacz.
The Spaghetti Dinner is the kickoff event for a year of many spirited and heart-filled events. The dinner is when the STA community gets to meet the Aquinas Stars for the first time and surround them with welcoming and love. The attendees and volunteers in the cafeteria erupted in applause as each of the Aquinas Stars made their entrance, accompanied by family members and STA students. Over the course of the evening, they were able to meet many students, faculty, parents, and community members. Jack and Domenic were also presented with gifts from the Aquinas Star Board.
As the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Aquinas Star program, it is also an occasion to provide financial support to the families. With a combination of sit-down and takeout dinners along with generous donations, the event raised over $5,000 for the families.
Helping to make the Aquinas Star program into the overwhelming success that it is are Aquinas Star Co-Chairpersons Caroline Devlin ’24 and Brianna Romero ‘25 and lead organizer Fr. Mike Tabernero as well as a host of other students and Campus Ministry team members, not to mention over 175 student and faculty volunteers who dedicated their evening to ushering guests, serving food, cleaning tables, and accompanying the invitees. Additionally, the food, drinks, and paperware were all provided by generous student and community donations and the kitchen was crewed by the Woodbridge Knights of Columbus.
The Aquinas Star Board, on behalf of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, would like to thank everyone who made this evening possible through their love, service, and support as it looks forward to another remarkable year.
