St. Thomas More Academy Podcast

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss how STMA handles academic and behavioral formation conversations.  Understanding that we should properly model relationships on the Holy Trinity, and by extension the family as a foundational human relationship, at STMA, academic and behavioral formation is not a bureaucratic or institutional process. We look to the faithful and fun...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin. Going chapter by chapter we discuss how the leadership principles learned by officers leading the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War can apply to our roles as parents, students, and teachers as we work together for best ou...

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants continue discussing what it means to trust the process at STMA.  Pastores Dabo Vobis - Pope St. John Paul II Art of Manliness Podcast: The Power of Team Captains

Deacon Brad Watkins, Dr. Jake Noland, and Charles McCants discuss what it means to trust the process at STMA. 

Deacon Brad and Dr. Noland discuss Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder

Welcome to the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.  Deacon Brad Watkins, Headmaster of the Academy, is joined by Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty, to talk about the formation of the whole person, especially young men and women in the Catholic liberal arts tradition, all to the greater glory of God. Thank you for this download and taking the time to listen. We hope it is helpful. In this epis...

Dr. Cal Newport says, Do fewer things. Do them better. Know why you're doing them. Welcome to the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.  Deacon Brad Watkins, Headmaster of the Academy, is joined by Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, to talk about the formation of the whole person, especially young men and women in the Catholic liberal arts tradition, all to the greater glo...

Welcome to episode fourteen of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast. Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, for a conversation with STMA Alumna Julia French ('18) about her time so far at the University of Notre Dame and her time at the Academy.  As always, we thank you for this download and taking the time to listen. We ho...

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2) And from the Book of Proverbs, "In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." (Proverbs 14:23) Welcome to the St. Thomas More Academy podcast. We're...

Welcome to episode twelve of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast. Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, for a conversation with STMA Alumna Aubrey Leaser ('19) about her time so far at the University of Virginia and her time at the Academy.  As always, we thank you for this download and taking the time to listen. We hope...

In the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, Our Lord says, Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." In this episode of the STMA Podcast, Ms. Christina Geradts and Mr. Charles McCants, STMA Student Life Coordinators, join our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins and Dr. Jake Noland, STMA Dean of Faculty, for a conversation about commitment. What does it...

Welcome to episode ten of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast. Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, for a conversation with STMA Alums Alex Winger ('18) and Connor Mulligan ('19) about college and their time at the Academy.  As always, we thank you for this download and taking the time to listen. We hope this episode pro...

Dr. Leonard Sax, in his book, The Collapse of Parenting , wrote: "We now live in a culture in which kids value the opinion of same aged peers more than they value the opinion of their parents, a culture in which the authority of the parents has declined not only in the eyes of the children, but also in the eyes of the parents themselves." In the 15th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, Our Lord says,...

In his first letter to the Corintians, St. Paul said, "When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things." Welcome to episode eight of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast. Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, for a conversation specificall...

Welcome to episode six of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.   Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, as they continue discussing FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) from our website. These are questions we often receive from prospective families, current families, and people outside of the Academy trying to gain insights...

Welcome to episode six of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.   Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, as they discuss FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) from our website. These are questions we often receive from prospective families, current families, and people outside of the Academy trying to gain insights into our exc...

Welcome to episode five of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.   Today, Dr. Jake Noland, our STMA Dean of Faculty and Athletic Director, joins our headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, as they discuss our mission to form the whole person , and what that means, especially here at St. Thomas More Academy.  As always, we thank you for this download and taking the time to listen. We hope this episode prov...

Episode 4 - Exercise "Remember that bodily exercise, when well ordered...is also a prayer by means of which, you can please God our Lord." St. Ignatius of Loyola "There is a moral imperative to take care of what you've been given." Fr. Mike Schmitz Welcome to episode 4 of the St. Thomas More Academy podcast.  This is Deacon Brad Watkins, Headmaster of the Academy, with you from our campus in Ralei...

Dr. Jake Noland joins Deacon Brad Watkins as we continue a mini-series discussing ways that students can improve their ability to positively engage their faith, relationships, and school life. In this episode we discuss diet, what we consider to be one of the three foundational aspects of being a positively engaged learner, along with sleep and exercise, and how critical a balanced and well ordere...

Dr. Jake Noland joins Deacon Brad Watkins as we begin a mini-series discussing ways that students can improve their ability to positively engage their faith, relationships, and school life. In this episode we discuss sleep, what we consider to be one of the three foundational elements, along with diet and exercise, and how it can improve almost every aspect of our lives. Conversely, we discuss how...

Dr. Jake Noland joins our Headmaster, Deacon Brad Watkins, for a conversation about positively engaged learners. Dr. Noland serves as the Dean of Faculty at STMA, but also teaches logic, bioethics, philosophy, economics, and a number of electives, and currently serves as our Athletic Director and head coach for men's soccer team, and our women's basketball and soccer teams.   In this episode we wi...