-Mr. Kirk Lewis Brings Aquaponics to Kean

By: Omar Emmanuel

“ Being consistent in my endeavor to achieve, and following God’s

guidance, is how I became who I am today,” said Mr. Kirk Lewis, a science teacher at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.

Mr. Lewis’s role models are “ God, Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandras Gandhi.” He is mostly influenced by God because “without Him nothing is possible,” he said. His mother taught him “how to work for what I’m in need of,”’ and his father taught him “to have patience and respect. Respect is very important to me, but I feel as if young people are losing it as they get older,” he added.

Mr.Lewis was born on the island of Antigua. “ My childhood was good. There were rough times, but rough times are sometimes good,” he said.

Growing up, Lewis attended many schools in Antigua, but once he moved to St.Thomas he enrolled in Nazareth Bay High School for grades 7-12. Then “After spending a lot of years in college, I finally graduated from the University of The Virgin Islands with a Masters in Chemistry and Educational Administration.”

Mr. Lewis has been teaching at Ivanna Eudora Kean for 21 years, but isn’t rushing retirement. “When I first started teaching, I was ready to quit after the first day, but I didn’t give up.” I asked if he enjoys teaching and he said, “I do to some extent. Twenty-five years ago I did not expect to be where I am today, but 15 years ago, I did.”

Mr. Lewis made history by starting an Aquaponics program at Kean High. [Please see the story “Aquaponics in Action” under News and Feature Stories. Or click here...] The class is learning to raise tilapia, a kind of freshwater fish, and grow vegetables in water instead of soil. As a member of the Aquaponics class, I wanted to know how he became interested in it.

“ I first became interested in Aquaponics after reading a few books on hydroponics, but Dr.James Rakosi was who influenced me in starting my own system. The island is a perfect place to start a hydroponics system because of our climate; this is also a good way to make money for the school, or even the government.

“The hardest thing in getting this whole Aquaponics system started was getting the administration’s approval, but with hard work it finally got through. Without our sponsors we would not even have made it this far, so special thanks goes out to Celtic Therapeutics, Home Depot, and our other sponsors for their bounteous donations.”

Mr. Lewis has been married to his high school sweetheart for five years and has a son Raheilio who just graduated from Kean High School.

In his spare time he said, “I enjoy reading the Bible, traveling, photography of nature in its natural form, and I used to enjoy mountain climbing.”

When I asked about his favorite food, he joked, “ Tilapia is my favorite food,” then said, “ Honestly, I do not have a favorite food. But if I had to chose, it would be oranges. Donnie McClurkin is my most favored artist although my favorite genre of music is jazz or reggae.”

Mr.Lewis is a very hard working man. He sets goals and puts his heart into achieving them.

“ As you get older, your goals in life change,” said Mr. Lewis. “ But as of now, I would like to live a peaceful life. I once wanted to be a millionaire, but I realized that being a millionaire comes with great responsibilities and tasks that I am not ready for. In order to be successful in school, you must clear your mind of all distracting images and thoughts, focus on the work at hand, set goals, and objectives with time frames. You also have to accomplish those goals set within the time given.”

Mr. Lewis is sometimes hard on you, but of course it's for the best. I must add, he is one of my favorite high school teachers and is quite the comedian. Here‘s a picture of him smiling at the dedication of the Aquaponics facility in April 2012.