"And what we're doing this year, and I hope forever, is relishing in the human beings around us. I think that's what the founders did so well, in the years leading up to the college, and in the first stage of the college."
Roberts added that "what we want to do is bottle that and harness it, and ensure that the supernatural joy that Bishop Ricken, and Dr. Carlson and Fr. Cook set in motion, is something that's sustained over the years."
Roberts, who co-founded John Paul the Great Academy, a primary and secondary classical school in Louisiana, prior to becoming president of Wyoming Catholic, said that at the academy "my faculty and I became devotees of John Senior and the Integrated Humanities Program in Kansas. We were, of course with secondary education, trying to perfect our own practice of the poetic mode of education."
"So in a profoundly spiritual sense, as well as a professional one, I felt called to come here, in large part because not only does the college commit itself to a robust formation of faith, but it does that by using the John Senior approach of opening the door to the great minds of civilization."
He added, "I think we're in a really good spot … to continue that moving forward. We don't want to deviate from that unique mission that Dr. Carlson set out … our goals here are grand, magnanimous: they're for the glory of God."
Roberts emphasized that he was drawn to Wyoming Catholic because "anyone who visits here, experiences a supernatural joy that I've not seen anywhere else."
Even though he has been drawn back into higher education, Roberts remains "deeply immersed in efforts to bring a classical curriculum to as many secondary Catholic schools as possible."
He noted that "an increasing number of bishops and superintendents of education, and dioceses around the country" are coming to understand and appreciate the value of an "authentic Catholic liberal education."
The adoption of classical and liberal arts education, he said, "is I think the only way we're going to renew Christian society, in the U.S. and beyond."
Together with physical and intellectual formation, Wyoming Catholic College offers spiritual formation, including daily Mass. Roberts said, "we believe very firmly that Wyoming Catholic College should stand with the Church in its entire liturgical tradition, which is why we're committed to offering both the extraordinary and ordinary forms, and occasionally the Byzantine rite."
"Because we are committed to the three transcendentals, what is good, beautiful and true, in the highest form of prayer, the Mass, we need to be emulating that," he added.
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Zach Thomas, a junior at the school, said that "every day I'm nourished by the sacraments, I'm encouraged by the teachers, by my fellow students," adding that the "ability to live in a real Christian community" has been the most important result of his formation there.
The community naturally engendered within the culture of Wyoming Catholic College has resulted in strong relationships between faculty and students, with faculty and their families becoming friends with their students, inviting them over not only for class sessions, but also for poetry readings, croquet matches, music, and dining.
"Families are a constant part of the students' life, and it's great to see how much the students attach themselves to the teachers and their families, and admire them as role models," Thomas reflected.
He concluded that the opportunity to get "breathing room" from the constant flow of incoming electronics has been among the "most valuable aspects" of his time at the college.
"The physical aspect of being in Wyoming, of being immersed in the purity and the depths of the outdoors, has been really formative."
Carl Bunderson is the former managing editor of Catholic News Agency.