Trevor Thomas Stewart:
Graduate Student and Outdoorsman
By Elizabeth Head and Joshua Smith
From presidential guard to professor
To say that Trevor Thomas Stewart has lived a rather interesting
life would be, according to many English majors, an example
of litotes, or an extreme understatement. Stewart
has been a kayak river guide, a Marine special-forces team
leader, a presidential guard, and a high school English teacher,
among other things.
He is now pursuing his doctorate at the University of Georgia.
The soon-to-be Dr. Stewart said that “reading and talking
about books is my favorite part of studying English. I guess
that’s why I’ve chosen to be a professor. I want
to spend my life reading and talking about books.”
After his dissertation, Stewart plans to conduct research
to help improve the teacher preparation programs. After that,
he wants to take a trekking vacation in Nepal or Bhutan with
his Labrador retriever “Yellow Dog.”
Helpful hints
When asked what advice he would give to a current English
major, he responds, “The best advice I could give English
majors would be this: Read a lot and write a lot. Don’t
read your books just because they’re assigned to you.
Pick your classes based on what you want to read, and enjoy
them. When you write, make sure your voice comes through clearly.
Anyone can write boring academic prose, so don’t do
it. Make your writing interesting.
"Break the rules — that’s what rules are
there for, " Stewart continues. "But most importantly,
follow the advice of Henry David Thoreau: 'If one advances
confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors
to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with
success unexpected in common hours.'”
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