I’m John Lyse (pronounced “Lee-See”), and I’m excited to begin my new career this year as a Spanish teacher.  I recently retired from the U.S. Army, where I spent the last sixteen years as a linguist.  Before my Army career, I spoke Spanish professionally for thirteen years.  Additionally, I have taught and trained people in various classroom settings, including GED classes for students at a community college, new employee classes at a credit card bank, and classes for soldiers on a variety of topics.  I graduated from Oregon State University in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and lived and worked for two years in Guatemala.  In addition to Spanish, I have studied and spoken Arabic, Turkish, Mayan (Kekchi), Korean, and Japanese in their respective regions of the world.

I was born and raised in Alaska, and have lived or worked in many areas of the world: Korea, Japan, Australia, Guatemala, Germany, Moldova, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all over the United States.  Military service finally brought me to South Carolina, which my family and I absolutely love.  My wife and I have seven children and two beautiful grandchildren.  In addition to languages, I am a great fan of math and history, and love to take road trips throughout the U.S.