Anthony Seiler’s encounter with classical education began, in part, with a desire to avoid milking cows. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm northwest of Wichita and attended diocesan schools K-12. When it came time to choose a college, his goals were to find a rigorous, Catholic university that was far enough from home that he wouldn’t need to milk cows on the weekend. These conditions led him to the University of Dallas. His encounter there with the Church’s ancient traditions of classical education was an unlooked-for blessing. In the midst of a study abroad semester in Rome, these threads of the Western tradition came together for him in the realization that he could pursue education and his classes because they were interesting, not because they were a means to some other end. This awareness was a watershed moment in his life and has inspired him to join in efforts to bring classical education to our diocese. After college, his farm background and degree in political philosophy led him to serve on the staff of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. His time away from Kansas helped him rediscover an appreciation for farming and home. He moved back to Wichita in 2019 both to be close enough to help with the family farm and to marry his wife, Tory, who is also from Wichita. As he and his wife start their young family, he is grateful for the opportunity to use his experience in advocacy and rhetoric to help share the ideas of the Catholic classical tradition in the hope that they can provide a vibrant education for their children and others in the diocese. In what little free time he can find between working for the local Farm Bureau and farming, he is passionate about studying history, architecture, and Shakespeare; sharing Italian dinners; and playing with his two young sons.

This series features the people who’ve been passionate for Classical Education, working towards its proliferation and implementation in the Wichita, Kansas area. These are among the parents and teachers faithfully stewarding this educational patrimony. These are the accounts of their motivation for Catholic Classical Education.

Among our original group of dads who envisioned a Catholic classical school in the Wichita diocese, Isaac Traffas has emerged as the locomotive force executing the unseen, yet vital work of the project. He’s ensured that the 27 page white paper finished in 1.5 years. He’s led a disciplined schedule of meetings (twice a month) since the project’s inception. Both he and his wife, Margaret Mary have worked tirelessly on countless tasks while opening their hearts and home to neighbors, friends, and collaborators.

The story of Isaac Traffas could be told by the books he reads.  He was born in Wichita and grew up with his head whirling with stories of adventure and heroism – under the trees, on the seas, and among the stars.  After graduating from Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, he attended Benedictine College.  There he encountered the wisdom of the Church in Her philosophy and theology while studying biochemistry and mathematics.  And he met his wife, Margaret Mary!  As they considered how to educate their fledgling children, they rediscovered Catholic classical education.  In this grand tradition, the Church’s understanding of man’s purpose is woven together with knowledge of creation and its Creator to form a trellis upon which their children could grow towards and flourish in the radiance of the eternal God.  Forming a small band with like-minded friends, together they set off on the adventure of bringing a Catholic classical school to Wichita.  In his spare time, he can be found reading to his five children, cultivating his home, playing board games, and enjoying the culinary delights of his wife.