Thomas Lyons ’26

As a College of Social Studies major, Thomas Lyons ’26 regularly reads several hundred pages of text a week; for a poetry class he took with Professor Merve Emre, the weekly reading was a single poem, sometimes just a few lines. The discussions, however, were equally rich.

“It’s wonderful to be able to approach academics in bulk and in miniature,” Lyons says. “I’m so lucky to be around such creative and curious and determined and inspired students.”

Lyons has taken a political science class with Professor Nina Hagel in which he considered what the philosopher John Locke would have thought about Elon Musk’s 2022 purchase of Twitter (now X); a course with Karen Collins that looked at math as a language; and a course on Soviet history with Professor Roman Utkin that examined art, poetry, and film. At Wesleyan, he says, the focus is on the learning experience, not any particular outcome.

“Very few people ask me about grades,” he says. “There’s a real enthusiasm for exploration in the classroom for the sake of curiosity.”

That was a shift for Lyons, who like many high-achieving high school students, came in with “a very academic focus.”

“As I’ve gotten older, I’m grateful for all my out-of-class time and activities,” he says. “You build up this really wonderful community with whom you share passions and interests.”

On campus, Lyons, who is considering a career in journalism or teaching, lives in Outhouse, a residence for people interested in the outdoors and nature; from there, and as a leader of the Wesleyan Outing Club, he regularly organizes hikes and other activities, including a triathlon at nearby Miller’s Pond State Park. Lyons is a former editor-in-chief and current executive editor of The Wesleyan Argus; and co-founder and managing editor of the humor publication, The John Wesley Methodist Charter (or The John, for short).

“I often remind myself that this is a very brief and special period in my life where the only expectation is to sit and read and think and write—what a gift that is,” Lyons says. “And then, Wesleyan pushes students to use that gift by engaging meaningfully with our communities — to share the power of education, and to become active participants in the world by questioning our place in it.”