Tony Lewis is something of a passionate optimist.

He smiles often during conversation and speaks articulately, casually explaining his worldview and philosophy.

‘People sometimes say I’m not stable because I’ve been around a lot of different places,’ Lewis said. ‘But in my experience, the happiest and most stable people I know are those who have their fingers on the pulse of what makes them happy and follow that pulse.

‘I’m a life traveler. I enjoy life extremely, and I always feel like I’m spiritually and professionally growing. If that means trying something new as a profession, I’m not scared to do that.’

As an assistant professor of Spanish linguistics at Syracuse University, Lewis’ pulse now has him bringing his quirkiness (a Teletubby doll sits in the corner of his office; it’s Po) and zeal to the classroom. This semester Lewis teaches two classes, LIN 431/631 (Phonological Analysis) and SPA 435/635 (Introduction to Spanish Phonetics and Phonology).

His students rave about him.

‘He’s so light-hearted and spirited when he comes to class, but so passionate about what he’s doing,’ said Carly Michel, a senior Spanish and art history major. ‘It would be wonderful to have more like him on our campus.’

Lewis’ colleagues seem to go down a checklist of positive adjectives to describe him, gushing about his skills as a teacher. Professor William Ritchie, who teaches linguistics as well, said Lewis is ‘quick with his students, dynamic, knowledgeable and engaging.’

Dennis Harrod, SU’s Spanish language coordinator, chuckled when asked about Lewis.

‘He’s a real interesting guy and an excellent teacher,’ Harrod said.

Lewis’ path to SU is one full of pit-stops, epiphanies and changes, of course, like Ulysses’ journey back home after the Trojan War.

He’s never been conventional.

Growing up in California’s San Fernando Valley, Lewis decided he wasn’t ready to go straight to college after high school. So in 1979 at the age of 17, he signed up for the U.S. Air Force.

‘The funny thing is, I joined up for all the reasons except militarism,’ Lewis said. ‘It was peace time; I looked at it like a summer camp. Where else would I have the chance to travel and meet people and have those kinds of experiences?’

Lewis spent four years as a medic at Andrews Air Force base outside of Washington, D.C. before receiving his honorable discharge as an Airman, First Class.

He returned to California, earning his nurse’s license and taking classes at Los Angeles Valley College, all while working about 20 hours a week as an emergency medical technician. After two years, there was a snag in his attempted transfer to the University of California-Santa Cruz.

‘I had avoided Spanish and all other languages like the plague in high school,’ Lewis said. ‘But when I tried to transfer to Santa Cruz, they said I had to take a foreign language before I was allowed to transfer.’

Convinced by his mother to take Spanish over French, Lewis quickly acquired a fascination with the dialect. Later, while taking a linguistics course at Santa Cruz, he had another discovery.

‘I found out I wasn’t just interested in Spanish, but in the puzzles and intricacies of all human languages,’ he said.

Lewis graduated after six years-a year of credits earned abroad in Costa Rica did not transfer over and he was forced to spend extra time at Santa Cruz-but was happy with the result. Lewis beamed when asked about it.

‘Who says your time studying higher learning has to last just four years?’ he said.

Lewis traveled back to his old stomping grounds in Washington upon graduation, spending about four years there as he quickly latched on as an EMT, earning a good deal of extra money translating diagnosis sheets into Spanish.

‘Here I was, this poor kid who suddenly had all the money he could dream of,’ Lewis said. ‘But I found myself intellectually bored to tears. You can only take so many blood pressures, you know?’

So in 1994, he returned to his roots in language and began doing graduate work in Spanish linguistics at the University of Illinois. He taught for a semester at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul before coming to SU in the fall of 2000, where he’s been a hit ever since.

Students respond to the vibrancy and enthusiasm he brings to teaching and the way he immerses himself in his work.

Alexa Rissof, a junior Spanish and sociology major, said Lewis’ class breaks up the monotony of her day with the way he adds excitement to it.

‘He is approachable and funny; a caring, intelligent professor,’ she said.

Lewis said he approaches his students as their friend, not just a professor. Admitting that it is hard work to stay hip, he says he makes a concerted effort to stay on top of how kids feel in this day and age.

‘It’s not just knowing what music they listen to or something like that,’ he said. ‘It’s about understanding their emotions and being able to relate to them. Kids are starving for that sort of guidance.’

A spiritual person, Lewis credits his parents with allowing him the freedom to be what he is today.

His family followed a variety of religious disciplines, mixing Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism with Celtic and even Pagan beliefs.

‘I say I’m lucky to have been raised by my parents in Eastern religions, because that’s something that’s been important in how I’ve lived my life,’ Lewis said. ‘I was spared a typical religious upbringing.’

Lewis, who is openly gay, does not mince words about his beliefs.

‘I feel like a lot of the Judeo-Christian religions may be based in faith, but they’re enforced by fear,’ he said. ‘I don’t have that fear; I’m not afraid to be who I am.’

In his downtime, Lewis spices his life up with things other than language puzzles. He studies meditation and does Sanskrit chanting during the week.

‘I’ve also been developing some comedic material,’ he said, a slight grin spreading across his face.

For now, SU is Lewis’ home.

‘I’m very content here right now, I love working with the students,’ he said. ‘But the search for happiness never ends and I’m not at a dead end with spiritual growth. And that’s OK.’

Published on November 11, 2006 at 12:00 pm