Waylan Kucate, an optometry technician, grew up in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, and is enrolled with the Zuni tribe. The name most people in his hometown commonly refer to him as Wemmeh, which means “animal.” Kucate had imagined joining the Air Force when he was younger but could not due to poor vision, so he studied culinary arts and worked at restaurants. He later came to EMHC and has been here for more than eight years. Kucate is also a full-time dad.