The BeatiDudes Wisdom in God’s Country - Wyoming Catholic College | Kyle Washut | Episode #135
Kyle Washut is the youngest Catholic president at the youngest Catholic college in America.
Kyle, President at Wyoming Catholic College (WCC), joins The BeatiDudes for an adventurous episode full of surprises, including the unique approach that WCC takes to educating and forming its students.
WCC is a “great books school” where every student starts their freshmen year by spending several weeks in the wilderness. They all receive the same degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. In addition to spending a semester on horseback, the entire student body memorizes a repertoire of poems and songs that unite them in the classroom and around the campfire.
Kyle, a Wyoming native, has been with WCC since its inception. Growing up in Casper, Wyoming, he worked in nuclear missile silos and coal mines during his teenage years, receiving an AA in Political Science and a second in Spanish from Casper College in 2003. While in Casper, he studied under two of WCC’s eventual founders, Dr. Robert Carlson and Fr. Robert Cook. He began his journey toward Wyoming Catholic by serving as a dishwasher at the annual Wyoming School for Catholic Thought, where the idea for the College was first proposed.
He graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in 2007 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and returned to Wyoming (and Wyoming Catholic) as the inaugural Assistant Dean for Student Life—a position he held until departing in the Fall of 2009 to pursue a graduate degree in Sacred Theology from Austria’s International Theological Institute (ITI). While in Austria, he continued to work for the College, coordinating its inaugural high-school (PEAK) and adult education (WSCT) summer programs, before returning as a full-time professor in early 2012. Washut has taught across the College’s curriculum since his return—theology and philosophy, as well as her distinctive Trivium and Humanities courses. In addition to serving as Visiting Associate Professor of Patristics and Ecclesiastical History at St. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, he has worked closely with a number of the College’s Administrative offices, including Admissions, Advancement, and the Outdoor Leadership Program (OLP). In the Fall of 2019, he was named Academic Dean and served in that capacity for four years before being named President in August 2023.
On Blessed are the Joke Makers, the Dudes must take on the persona of a shop-a-holic to address the prompt, “I would be the patron saint of _______.”
The TBD question of the day – share a story or memory about your grandfather.
For this episode of Reverse Simpsons, Kyle and the hosts enjoy various strange drinks and finish the show by promoting the surprise drink they consumed.
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