Dr. Susan Orr Traffas, Headmaster – Great Books
Dr. Susan Orr Traffas comes to us after 15 years at Benedictine College, where she was the founder and co-director of both the Honors Program and the Great Books Program as well as an associate professor in political science.
Prior to returning home to Kansas in 2008, she had a decades-long career in public policy in Washington, DC with 13 years of experience at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. With a BA in Politics from the University of Dallas and Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School, she is the author of Jerusalem and Athens: Reason and Revelation in the Works of Leo Strauss, as well as numerous articles on political philosophy, child and family policy and the role of women in society.
Jackie Arnold, Administrative Assistant – Scripture & Catechesis, Trivium
Mrs. Arnold received her Bachelor’s in Humanities & Catholic Culture from Franciscan University of Steubenville, and her Master’s in Theology from Newman University. She has worked in education in a variety of ways in the past 15 years: co-authoring a textbook, adjuncting at colleges, teaching at the Spiritual Life Center, forming her own children, directing the formation of curriculum, teaching Latin, and middle school literature. She lives on a farm with her husband and children, and finds time to ponder beauty in nature and the Great Works in the meantime.
Dr. Susan Crane-Laracuente – Latin, Natural Science
Dr. Crane-Laracuente was an Associate Professor of English at Newman University before coming to Mary Seat of Wisdom. She completed a Ph.D. in English with a focus on Medieval Literature in Old English and Latin in 2006 at Stony Brook University in New York. She has lived in Wichita for nearly 15 years, teaching writing, the structure and history of the English language, world literature, and Latin (including to the seminarians in the St. Joseph House of Formation). She continues to marvel at and ruminate upon the wonders of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences along with gardening, cooking, baking, and many forms of art.
Megan Taylor Gilstrap – Music
Mrs. Taylor Gilstrap has been a music educator for over 10 years in the Wichita area, beginning with her own private voice studio and eventually teaching at Northfield School. This is her first year teaching at Mary Seat of Wisdom Academy. Continuing her work as a singer as well as an educator is important to her. You can see her perform with the Wichita Symphony Chorus, as well as with the ensemble she founded in 2023 called Philoxenia Choral Collective.
James Odong – Gymnastic
Mr. Odong is married to Dr. Stacy Shipman and comes to Mary Seat of Wisdom Academy after a number of years teaching in Lagos, Nigeria. He has a degree in Sports Business Administration, and is an active tennis trainer. He enjoys golf and futbol (soccer). James’ wish for his students is that they have long, active, healthy lives full of friends, family, and love. He is looking forward to helping students grow and working successfully with the Mary Seat of Wisdom community. Students might hear him quoting Nelson Mandala, “I never lose. I either win or learn.”
Joshua Sturgill – Geometry
Mr. Sturgill holds a M.Div from Sangre de Cristo Seminary and an MA in Far Eastern Studies from St. John’s College. His long association with Eighth Day Books and love of travel have led to speaking and teaching engagements in Kansas and across the globe, and he is pleased to bring his love of learning to our community at Mary Seat of Wisdom Academy.
The St. John’s style of Shared Inquiry education has deeply influenced his teaching style. Shared Inquiry emphasizes communal learning and an integrative (rather than a specialist) approach to knowledge. The study of mathematics, which is daunting for many, can be made more rich and fruitful through discussion of ancient texts and use of the compass rather than the calculator.
Mr. Sturgill is the author of two books of poetry, As Far As I Can Tell (2018) and Now a Major Motion Picture (2022), as well as numerous short stories, articles and essays. His writing has appeared in The College, Cresset, Synaxis Journal, the online blog of Darkly Bright Press, and has been rejected by many other fine publications.
Outside the classroom, Mr. Sturgill plays bodhran, crafts fine homebrews, studies origami, and works in his garden. He is a tenor in the choirs of St. George Cathedral, Wichita, and Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Santa Fe.
Rebekah Sturgill – Algebra
Mrs. Sturgill comes from a long line of teachers on both sides of her family. Starting as a math and science teacher in New Mexico, she has since taught literature, church history, composition, and 4th grade. When she isn’t teaching, she is most likely reading, editing, discussing, or selling books, often at Eighth Day Books. She studied the Western Canon at St. John’s College, where she recently completed a Master’s degree in Eastern Classics. She met her husband at St. John’s, and they now live in Wichita with their son, who is far more joyful and funny than either of them.
John Traffas – Great Books
Volunteer teacher Mr. Traffas has B.A. (Politics) and M.A. (Theology) degrees from the University of Dallas. While an undergrad he began a lifelong periodic involvement in education, teaching at Notre Dame Special School adjacent to UD. John has taught from junior high through college—the latter, in the Great Books Program at Benedictine College. The Great Books and a Roman history class for homeschoolers in Atchison, Kansas, drove home for him the imperative for students to be formed in the Western tradition of liberal learning and concern for the common good — the perfecting of the human being and the citizen.