In Depth

Mary Jane Lewis: Natural Born Nurturer

A self-described nurturer at heart, Mary Jane Lewis, affectionately known as Mama Lewis, is always available in the Community and Multicultural Development (CAMD) office to offer her motherly love and advice. Born in South Carolina and raised in New York City, Mama Lewis believes she was probably just born with her ability to nurture. She came to Phillips Academy on April 5, 1993, with the desire to use her nurturing skills to help children. As an Administrative Assistant in the CAMD office, Mama Lewis enjoys spending her workdays in the company of teenagers and supporting upset or stressed students. Over the years, Mama Lewis has taken students to her home, to buy food and to get their hair done. She wanted to “fill that void” that some students feel living away from home. By helping students adjust and making them feel welcome in the Andover community, Mama Lewis won the role of Mama Jane in a student production. That name evolved quickly into Mama Lewis, and it stayed with her. Mama Lewis has four siblings, one of whom is deceased. A mixture of Native American, European and African, she calls herself a woman of color. As she exclaimed, “I didn’t get this color from just one race!” For her first three years of high school, Mama Lewis attended Franklin K. Lane High in Brooklyn, New York, a racially integrated school, and then went on to the Tuskegee Institute High School, a segregated high school in Alabama, as a senior. She said she was instantly popular at the Tuskegee Institute High School. “Tuskegee was a black high school. I guess my popularity came from being from the ‘Big Apple’…oftentimes people— Southerners— are impressed by big cities and the so-called lifestyle and culture of one from New York. But I was raised by Southern parents and carry many of those values,” said Lewis. “I might be popular because of my personality– God made me a ‘people person’…I guess that’s why so many call me Mama Lewis,” she continued. Lewis’s ex-husband worked in the Air Force and their son, Reverend Ross E. Wyche, Jr., was born in Concord, Massachusetts. A father of two, Reverend Wyche is a college graduate and is currently working in a seminary. Having already raised her own son, Mama Lewis has now taken her 14-year-old nephew, Leroy Barnes, under her wing. He is a sophomore at Lawrence High School and was admitted into the PA MS2 program in the summer of 2007. Before coming to Phillips Academy, Lewis worked for a corporate sales office as an assistant. The job was stressful and she was in need of a break. When she came to Phillips Academy, she liked what she saw. The first time Lewis heard of PA was when she came across an advertisement asking for a person of color to work in the Phillips Academy Multicultural Affairs office, which became CAMD under Head of School Barbara Chase. PA created the Multicultural Affairs office in response to protests from the African American community. “They went to the administration complaining about the type of support they felt was conducive to their well-being: places and products for ethnic hair care, celebrating MLK Day, curriculum – Black History, cultural events with foods of their heritage and social clubs, etc,” said Lewis. The transition from the Multicultural Office to CAMD was smooth, and Mama Lewis began to take on more responsibilities as CAMD gained staff and made several technological advancements. During her free time, Mary Jane Lewis is an active church member who sings in her church’s gospel choir and at Phillips Academy. She enjoys life to the fullest, loves to cook and frequently walks and does aqua aerobics. Every day, Mama Lewis rises early, thanks the Lord for everything, spends time with young people and exercises. She dreams of visiting Africa sometime before her life is over. She also looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren, son and nephew when she retires. When asked about her advice for students, Mama Lewis said, “Follow your passion…do well and be good and kind.” She believes students should find something that makes them happy and build on that. “Kids do not always have to succeed academically and get a Ph.D. in order to love what they do,” she said. Mama Lewis went on to say, “…in a school such as PA, children are expected to excel…some often feeling like failures if they don’t…but if one has done the best he or she possibly can and put in all the extra effort, [one] should be able to accept that and make peace with [oneself]. Multiple…degrees are great; It’s the way our society says you’ve made it…but not all are capable of [earning degrees] and there are other things in life that can be just as important.” She added, “We also are responsible to help others – ‘To who much is given, much is required.’ (Luke 12:48).”