De La Salle Award Winner Timothy Phelps ’26 on Embracing Experience and Finding Beauty in New Perspectives

When Timothy Phelps ’26 began his academic journey at Saint Mary’s College in the fall of 2022, he believed he knew everything there was to know about God, his faith, and most importantly, himself. But there came a pivotal moment during his first year—over a slice of cake and a Vatican II document on divine revelation—that his assumptions began to change.

Phelps hails from Camas, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon. While he loved growing up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, he was ready for a change when it came to selecting a college. He tells me that when choosing Saint Mary’s, he was especially interested in finding a “small Catholic school where it didn’t rain.” When he says this, he glances out the window and laughs; we have just moved our meeting inside due to a steady drizzle on a late April day—a surprise at this time of year.

One of four children, Phelps says his childhood was defined by his large family and the values his parents instilled in him: to earn what you get, and to always be loving. In his academic pursuits at Saint Mary’s, you could make the case that he took these very much to heart, double-majoring in Business Administration and Theology and Religious Studies. Now, four years later, he is not only the winner of the Saint John XXIII Award—the departmental award for excellence as a Theology and Religious Studies major—he is also the 2026 De La Salle Award Winner.

Alongside recognition as Valedictorian, the De La Salle Award is the most significant honor presented at Commencement. Named in honor of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and patron saint of teachers, the award is granted to the graduating senior with the highest record for scholarship and general excellence. 

Revelation in Relationship

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The experience Phelps has had as a Gael has been transformative, and he emphasizes that it truly has been defined by community—especially relationships with his friends, professors, and the Christian Brothers on campus. 

While he was a double major, Phelps acknowledges that Theology is truly his passion. Raised in a Catholic family, he had always been in touch with his faith, yet had never felt fulfilled by the religion classes he took in his high school. He embraced the study of theology wholeheartedly at Saint Mary’s. 

He recalls a defining moment in his first year on campus when one professor, Anne Carpenter, helped “flip a switch” in his pursuit of theology. “We were in the Mission & Ministry Center lounge with a group of students, eating cake and discussing Dei Verbum, the Vatican II document on divine revelation,” he says. “We were talking about how the Council Fathers understood the ways God reveals himself to the world.”  

As they read through the document together, Phelps felt confident in his interpretations; after all, he had always possessed a strong grasp on theological concepts. Yet, after he shared his thoughts, Professor Carpenter met him with careful resistance: “In her gentle and eloquent way, she walked me through a different interpretation, one that was much more faithful to the document itself. She did not embarrass me or dismiss what I had said. Instead, she took each of my comments seriously and helped me see where they needed to be clarified.” 

Phelps remembers feeling disappointed at first; he thought he had understood the document well—and more than that, he thought he understood this “God stuff” pretty well. But instead of tucking the conversation away as a rare misstep, Phelps looks back on it as a catalyst for changing how he viewed education. He realized that being at Saint Mary’s was not about proving how much he already knew. 

Instead, it was, he says, about “becoming humble enough to keep learning, careful enough to listen more deeply, and open enough to be formed by the people and ideas around me.”

Flipping the Diamond of Perspective 

While Phelps looks back fondly on his upbringing in a small PNW town, he has reveled in the opportunities to encounter new cultures and perspectives at Saint Mary’s. He recalls events such as the Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration on campus, which opened his eyes to the beauty of this Latin American tradition in a religious context and beyond. 

For a course in Christian Ethics with an engaged learning component, he volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County, here in the East Bay. That was another experience that made him see the world in a bigger way through simple gestures. Through his work there—whether it was cutting vegetables, packing lunches, or serving meals—he became more aware of how even the smallest actions contribute to something larger. Serving alongside other volunteers and interacting with those he helped pushed him to confront his own attitudes, he says. He also recognized ways he had previously distanced himself from those experiencing homelessness, and that being placed in direct relationship with them challenged that mindset and encouraged him to take seriously the Christian call to see Christ in others. 

For Phelps, his Saint Mary's experience was about “becoming humble enough to keep learning, careful enough to listen more deeply, and open enough to be formed by the people and ideas around me.”

The metaphor Phelps uses to describe new ways of seeing is to “flip a diamond.” The analogy was introduced to him in a class on Scripture with Professor Michael Barram, and although the original meaning of the phrase was to describe different ways to view the Bible, Phelps believes it also captures his time at Saint Mary’s. He says that when you approach something from the same angle every time, you miss out on the shine of the diamond’s different sides. When you flip it, however, you can see new facets of beauty. 

For Phelps, “that really just describes the beauty of this campus and the beauty of the people that we have here,” he says. “Because every time you turn the diamond, or you just walk somewhere else—into an event or a talk or whatever—you see a different part of the diamond. You’re just like, ‘Oh my God, this is so beautiful. Where has this been my entire time?’”  

Looking Forward 

When Phelps received the email that he had been awarded the 2026 De La Salle Award, he didn’t believe it. Along with his studies, Phelps has played golf for years recreationally and served as Team Manager for Men’s Golf. He happened to be on the fifth green at the Moraga Country Club when his phone pinged with an email detailing that he had received the Saint John XXIII Award. He was thrilled, as it was an accolade he was hoping to earn. Then he noticed another email with the subject: “Congratulations! You’ve been named the De La Salle Award Winner.” Phelps had to read the email three times before it sank in. Even then, he assumed it meant he had been nominated. 

While his reaction exemplifies his humble and community-minded spirit, the recognition was no surprise to those who know him. Brother David Caretti, FSC, ’99 is someone whom Phelps credits as a “North Star” in his college experience as he has discerned his Lasallian vocation. Brother David, in turn, describes Phelps as “a young man whose faith inspires everything that he does in a very authentic way.” 

In the classroom, Brother David says, Phelps is certainly academically minded and an incredibly strong thinker, but what truly stands out is “his immense sense of humor and caring personality.” Brother David tells me that anyone who encounters Phelps will see that outside the classroom, it’s not his mind, but the good heart he possesses that makes him who he is.

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For his Senior Capstone project, Phelps wrote on “A Lasallian Theology of Salvation.” That, he says, “is just a fancy way of saying how De La Salle understands salvation and how education functions as its mode.” One aspect of this work focuses on how one’s relationship with God and salvation is defined by small, intentional moments. “Ultimately, it’s trying to frame the teacher as the formator, the one who helps the student recognize that reality within themselves,” he says. “It’s not something that the student has to go out and grab from outside themselves; but rather, it’s a reality that is always unfolding within the process of one’s becoming and growth.”

For Phelps, this project has been multifaceted. Not only is it an academic pursuit of knowledge, but also a journey of discovery. That’s because moving forward, Phelps is embarking on a truly Lasallian vocation. He has been accepted into Postulancy with the Brothers of the Christian Schools and has been assigned to ministry at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, where he will teach religion to high school students. His work with Lasallian teachings in his academic pursuits—examining what kind of Brother he wants to be, and what kind of teacher he wants to become—will guide him as he moves into this next chapter of his life. 

Embracing Experience

Reflecting on his years at Saint Mary’s, Phelps encourages his classmates to remember their time as students as a period of formation that will continue long after graduation.

“Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God, as De La Salle reminds us,” Phelps says. “Encounter Him within the small moments during your time at Saint Mary’s—from the people you meet in the dining hall to those gathered around the Seminar table, and everything in between. In my time at Saint Mary’s, I found that opportunities to recognize God in these everyday moments came often, but only if I took the time to notice them. Don’t let these years pass by without recognizing how they are shaping you for the life God has in store for you beyond Saint Mary’s.”

Margaret Hamlin ’27 is a Student Writer in the Office of Marketing and Communications. Write her.