Name: Wyatt Parlow

Hometown: College Station, TX

Major: Philosophy and letters

Notable UD Memory: When Fr. Robert Maguire, O. Cist., called Trinity Seminary to tell the seminarians in his class that he had lost most of their essays. Luckily, Fr. Maguire located them in the end, but not without producing much good-hearted laughter.

Achievements: Recipient of the Very Reverend Thomas M. Cumiskey, O.P., Memorial Award for Excellence in Philosophy & Letters.

Future Plans: Pursuing graduate studies in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Wyatt Parlow, BA ’23, started his first semester of college at Texas A&M University in College Station. The day before the semester began, Parlow knew something wasn’t right.

“I felt this uneasiness with the path I was on in life and what I wanted to study,” Parlow said.

Within an hour, however, this uneasiness was replaced by a sense of peace and love. His heart, now at rest, beat out the word priest, priest, priest. Still unsure, he finished out the term as a biology major on a pre-med track, but by spring, he was resolved to enter the seminary. Once planning to be a medical doctor, Parlow would now become a doctor of a different sort.

“The Lord called me out of my desire to be a bodily physician and ordered me through grace toward the supernatural end of being a physician of souls,” he said. 

After he discerned his vocation, the Diocese of Austin sent Parlow to Trinity Seminary.

“Dioceses that don’t have seminaries in their own locations will partner with the Diocese of Dallas to send their men to UD,” he said. “Plus, UD is known for that wonderful classical liberal arts education that the church prizes so much.” 

Amid discernment and academic obligations, Parlow still devoted time to fostering a spirit of brotherhood between the seminary and the UD community. “This is something that’s made me grow in my time here,” he said. 

Particularly, Parlow admires the genuine commitment of faculty to spur students on to success. 

“I’m amazed by their availability to both instruct in education and their own personal wisdom as well,” he said. “I think it’s a beautiful thing.”