Instructors
Mr. Scott Augustine
ECONOMICS
Scott Augustine is the parent of four enthusiastic Aquinas Learning students (plus a toddler) and his family has been a part of the Aquinas Twin Cities Center since its first year. Scott has enjoyed the role of Behold Science Mentor for the Prima I and Prima II students at Aquinas Twin Cities for seven years. This year he is taking a step away from mentoring science as he will be teaching Alta Economics. Mr. Augustine has worked professionally as a Certified Financial Planner for twenty-three years. He earned a B. A. in economics with a minor in business from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. The Augustines reside in Stillwater and are parishioners at the Church of All Saints in Minneapolis. Their favorite family past time is traveling to beautiful places where they can behold God’s beauty and splendor, especially Hawai’i.
Miss Catherine Dahl
PARVA
PIANO LESSONS
PRIVATE TUTORING
Catherine Dahl is a lifelong homeschooler and pianist. Herself a graduate of Seton Home Study School, she provides tutoring to homeschool families, as well as mentoring the Aquinas Learning Parva class for the past 7 years. Formerly with the Music Teachers Network, she has taught beginning and intermediate piano for 12+ years. A history enthusiast and card-carrying bookworm, she loves to learn, explore, and share all she can about history and the Catholic Faith. She lives in West St. Paul with her sister and two beagles.
Miss Maggie Dahl
PRIVATE TUTORING
Mrs. Kelsey Eberhardt
MATH
Kelsey Eberhardt is a math fanatic! She graduated from the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in math education and computer science. Kelsey worked as a software developer and corporate trainer for 8 years but still did math tutoring on the side just for fun! She has been a math mentor for Aquinas Twin Cities for three years and is excited for another great year. In her spare time she enjoys playing French horn, reading, playing tennis, and learning to crochet. Kelsey resides in Shakopee with her husband and three young children.
Mrs. Meg Flicek
DIRECTOR
Mrs. Nicole Foley
PRIMA I BOYS
Nicole Foley is thrilled to be joining the mentor team after completing the first year as a member of Aquinas Twin Cities last year. She is a mom of seven living in Stillwater with her husband, Devin. Nicole has two boys in college (a senior at Hillsdale and sophomore at St. Thomas), a HS senior daughter doing PSEO, three at Aquinas and a preschooler. This will be her 16th year homeschooling in the classical method (something she swore she’d never do! God laughs at our plans and knows His are better, indeed.) She is a (Summa Cum Laude) graduate of Hillsdale College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. Prior to her career as a homemaker and homeschool teacher, she worked in the durable medical equipment field in sales and marketing. She’s a huge fan of cooking and baking, reading, history, home & creative projects, and learning alongside her kids. The Aquinas approach to education is something she’s blessed and honored to bring into her home and the classroom.
Mrs. Laura Hudinsky
SEWING
HOME ECONOMICS
DRAMA
Hi I’m Laura Hudinsky.
I am a wife, a mother to a little girl, designer, seamstress, and homemaker!
I have been sewing since I was 11 years old and started sewing professional when I was 18. I have owned my own alterations and custom sewing business for 10 years now.
My favorite thing to sew is dresses for my daughter and wedding dresses. I got married in April 2020 and designed/sewed my own wedding dress! I love the creativity that wedding dresses let you have!
When I'm not sewing I love to read, bike, kayak, explore nature, crochet, bake/cook & hang out with my amazing family!
Miss Mary Michaud
PRIMA I GIRLS
My name is Mary Michaud, and this is my second year mentoring at Aquinas for the Prima I class. Last year I was working with the Prima I boys, and I am excited to be working with the Prima I girls this year! I was blessed to be homeschooled up to 6th grade and then to receive a classical Christian education in middle and high school. I graduated in 2022, and this will be my second year taking online classes toward an Early Education and Care degree.
When I'm not studying, mentoring at Aquinas, or tutoring, I love spending time with Our Lord, chatting with my family, and going on adventures with my friends.
Mr. Juan Perez
PHILOSOPHY
Mr. Juan Perez first encountered the classical world when he stumbled into a liberal arts degree at a public university in South Florida. Intrigued by the ancients, he dove headfirst into their philosophy, language, and history, which mercifully led to a rejection of Christian synchronism and a total embrace of the Catholic Church. He spent some time studying 20th-century history, in particular, the good work of Pope Pius XII, before graduating from Ave Maria School of Law in 2010.
Now Mr. Perez spends his weekdays working from home for Thomson Reuters where he helps corporate legal departments manage their legal spend. In the evenings, he serenades his beautiful wife and five rambunctious daughters to the tune of the baritone ukulele. In his free time, he participates in a neighborhood confraternity where he gets to study theology, practice beer-brewing, and host traditional processions throughout the liturgical year. Mr. Perez has taught Logic and Latin in the past and is delighted to be teaching Schola Alta's Philosophy course at Aquinas Twin Cities in preparation for teaching this class to his own daughters when they move into the Schola Alta years.
Mrs. Karen Perez
MEDIEVAL HISTORY INTEGRATED WITH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION
Once upon a time, Mrs. Karen Perez discovered an American Girl book in her grade school library. From then on, when she wasn't playing basketball, Mrs. Perez always had her nose in a book. Then, in college, she got to study abroad in Toulouse, the medieval city where the Dominican order was founded and Saint Thomas Aquinas is buried, opening her eyes to the beauty of medieval Christendom. So, she dove into the 13th century and earned a liberal arts degree with a certificate in medieval studies from Dartmouth and hoped to begin a career in book publishing.
Instead, the Lord sent Mrs. Perez to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she worked in digital marketing at Google for ten years before happily quitting the corporate world to begin homeschooling with Aquinas Learning in Minnesota. She has delighted in teaching IEW's history-based writing classes at Aquinas Twin Cities since 2017, Schola Alta I Lit/Comp since 2021, and Schola Alta I History since 2022. Mrs. Perez's goal is to motivate her students to know the story of history; to behold truth, goodness, and beauty in literature; and to practice the skills of thinking, speaking, writing, attentiveness, and virtue.
The Perez family worships at the Saint Augustine Oratory in South St. Paul.
Mrs. Mara Poole
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Mrs. Maggie Schiltz
ASTRONOMY
PHYSICS
Maggie has been teaching in Catholic education for over a decade. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the College of St. Benedict and a Master’s degree in Engineering Education from the University of St. Thomas. She loves teaching all science topics in light of the Catholic faith and is excited to start at Aquinas Learning. Maggie works at a yarn shop on weekends and spends the majority of her free time knitting and crocheting. Maggie lives in St. Louis Park with her husband, Joe, and one year old daughter, Martha.
Mrs. Renee Schoenfelder
PRIMA I & II: BEHOLD ART & MUSIC
My family of six children joined Aquinas Learning in 2018 and I have been the Behold Music and Art mentor since 2019. I currently have a son in his first year of college, a daughter who attends high school, and four children at Aquinas Learning. We love the community and rigor of study that we have found at Aquinas Learning and I am forever grateful that my husband, John, convinced me to join!
I graduated undergrad with degrees in Music Education K-12 and Sacred Music, and I have a Masters of Education with a Montessori emphasis. I taught primary level Montessori and private piano lessons before beginning my homeschooling career.
We are members of the parish at the Cathedral of St. Paul since my conversion to the Catholic faith twenty years ago and we live in Burnsville.
Miss Ruth Statz
PRIMA II
Hi, my name is Ruth Statz. This is my first year with Aquinas Learning but I was homeschooled
all the way through 8th grade and know and appreciate the disciplines of an excellent
homeschool education. I’m excited to get to know all the students and families.
I graduated from Chesterton Academy back in 2020 and have since worked as a house cleaner. In
2024 I worked at Leaflet Missal while I prayed about my next step in life, which was to pack up
my things and drive to the beautiful wooded valleys of Steubenville, OH. There I completed my
freshman year as an English major, made wonderful friends, and took classes with amazing
professors. Now, I’m taking classes at Inver Hills Community College until I can make enough
money to go back to Franciscan and finish my degree there.