No one coming out of college has all the knowledge they need to succeed in business. Even if someone knew everything in the textbook, there are still many things to learn. A new employee needs to learn how your business works, who your customers are, and how your products function. And every business works differently. Additionally each new day brings new challenges and changes. The faster a new employee learns how your business operates, how he or she fits into your operations, and how to do things most effectively, the sooner he or she will be an asset to you.

Because our students spend four years wrestling with the world’s greatest authors and most difficult questions, they are more than just smart; they have to be able to learn quickly and stick with the task. At WCC, they can’t choose to take easy classes or learn from an easy professor. They can’t decide on the fifth day of class that the subject is too hard and drop it. They can’t bomb a course and just take it again later. They’ve learned to stick with it and succeed.

That’s how business works. You need employees who will learn the new things that are thrown their way and who know how to complete their tasks. That is exactly what we train our students to do. A degree from Wyoming Catholic College means that a young man or woman has been challenged and stretched in disciplines that were out of their comfort zone, overcame the challenges, and succeeded.

There is a saying: “To a man with only a hammer, every problem is a nail.” By contrast, our students collect a bag full of many tools, not just hammers. By studying a breadth of subjects, they can look at problems from a variety of perspectives. Our integrated curriculum helps them see the interconnectedness of everything they study. They strive to find new ways of looking at issues and are constantly checking how new insights fit with a broad paradigm of ideas. Your business is also integrated. A change in production affects sales, marketing, finance, and distribution. The ideal employee can see the interconnectedness and make decisions accordingly.

In addition to the demands of the curriculum, students are involved in extracurricular activities, lead trips for the Outdoor Leadership Program, and make time to grow spiritually. And 80% are on work study where, along with learning even more multitasking, they realize that there is no such thing as a free ride. As it is at WCC, so it is in your business.

Communication is a word that gets batted around all the time. Ignoring all the baggage tied up with that term, businesses need employees who are good listeners, can work collaboratively, can be persuasive and convincing to a roomful of people, and can write clearly on complex topics. Again, our students practice these skills every day. In class they listen to their classmates and their teachers as part of polite and professional conversations about how to interpret difficult topics. When they see a conclusion clearly, they speak persuasively to bring the rest of the class along with them and written assignments are designed to synthesize their new knowledge with other things they are learning.

While many schools claim to be forming leaders, Wyoming Catholic College has a unique approach: We put our students into difficult situations with real consequences and watch them become real leaders. Over their four years, our students spend at least ten weeks in the wilderness. After learning the basic backcountry skills, they all have opportunities to plan trips, lead groups, and navigate the difficulties of the terrain. And since they can’t hit “control Z” to undo a problem, their leadership decisions have real consequences. If someone reads a map wrong, the group might be camping in the snow, not be eating dinner till 10 PM, or have to hike an extra 5 miles on tired feet. Artificial situations create artificial leaders; real situations create real leaders.

In business, all situations are real situations. Losing a client or missing a new product launch date has consequences. You want to entrust your company’s future to leaders who have already had to face the consequences of their decisions, rather than people who have studied “leadership” in a classroom.

While WCC students learn to be leaders, they also learn another skill that we believe is just as essential: “Active Followership.” Our graduates understand that when you are not in a leadership role, you have a duty as a follower to work actively to support the leader and help the group reach the leader’s goals. If you are the leader of your company, you need people who will follow you, support you, and make your job easier. Our students are taught that, when they have the knowledge and experience to step forward and lead they should do so, but, when they don’t, to step back and support the one who should be leading.

The person with integrity is steadfast and the same in every situation. On a large college campus, it’s easy to hide. You can act one way in class, another way at dinner, and still another way in your dorm. With our small campus, tight-knit community, and clear code of conduct, our students have nowhere to hide. They must live with integrity. Student who are dishonest or lazy don’t last. At WCC if you miss too many classes, you don’t pass. If you show up late too many times, you don’t pass. You don’t have time to make sure your employees are treating the company with honesty and are working hard for the hours that you pay them. You need people for whom integrity is habitual, a part of their lives and characters.