Saint Thomas Aquinas College 4.66

Saint Thomas Aquinas College is a Roman Catholic private school located at the corner between Bagares Street and Concepcion Street, Barangay Zone IV, Sogod, Southern Leyte, Philippines. It is considered one of the oldest schools in Southern Leyte, serving the community since January 6, 1946. One of its sister schools are the Saint Teresa School of Hilongos and Saint Anthony's High School of Anahawan.HistorySTAC started after World War II settled down when Fr. Luis Caintic saw the need for the town to have a learning institution named after the patron saint of Catholic education, Saint Thomas Aquinas. In 1952, the Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy or STAA Normal Department produced 26 graduates with Elementary Teachers' Certificate (ETC) as well as 17 pupils from the Elementary Department. However, enrollment suffered a major setback in December 1951 when Typhoon Amy, one of the most destructive in that decade, ravaged the town. In 1952, Fr. Sergio Osmeña took the reins of running STAA from Fr. Caintic. A year later, he was replaced by Fr. Generoso Nielo. With the aid of some devotees of the Blessed Lady, he initiated the construction of the existing Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Fr. Neilo was followed by Fr. Porfirio Suarez (1962 - 1972).Under the directorship of Fr. Vicente Lora (1972 - 1980) many changes in the structures of STAA took place: A library, the administration building and a basketball court/quadrangle were constructed. During the term of Fr. Juanito Arreglo as director (1982 - 1986), STAA established a Kindergarten School and a building was constructed for this purpose. When Fr. Manuel Nueve (1986 - 1992) took over, a two-room classroom building was constructed. Realizing the need to upgrade the school's facilities and to keep abreast with the challenging needs of the times, the school expanded its services when Msgr. Amado D. Olayvar assumed in office in 1992. STAA offered a Junior Secretarial course later reclassified into an Associate in Computer Secretarial. It was also during Msgr. Olayvar's stewardship that STAA was converted into a collegiate institution on August 7, 1997 through SEC Registration No. A19971565. From then on, Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) came into existence.