Thomas Finan, a professor at Saint Louis University, said that his love for history began early in his life.

Now, his passion for the past has led him to a role in a documentary series soon to be broadcasted on the History Channel.

Finan, who teaches international studies, archaeology and medieval Irish and British history, will be a consultant for a mini-series called “Clash of the Gods.”

“They flew me to New York for filming, and to be honest I still find it funny that a guy from South St. Louis would be flown to New York to serve as an expert for the History Channel,” Finan said.

Finan said that he made a special effort to get a glimpse of his favorite historical moments.

“I would conveniently come down with a cold whenever the great historical movies would be on the afternoon movie on channel 11 or 30 . movies like Ben Hur, El Cid, Spartacus, Battle of the Bulge, or whatever,” Finan said. “I suppose I continue to have a strong imagination in that sense.”

Finan took his passion with him to college, where he concentrated on archaeology and religious studies. He attended the University of Missouri, where he worked as the football team’s equipment manager.

After graduation, Finan went on to teach at high schools in the St. Louis area, including St. Louis University High School, where he worked on his dissertation. Once he finished his dissertation in Ireland in 1999, he went on to direct the International Studies program at Webster University.

After his time there, Finan made his way to SLU.

“I love working at SLU,” he said. “I have some of the greatest colleagues anyone could ask for, and I have always found the students ‘good’ in the sense that they are great students, but also very, very good people. As my wife says, I’m really happy when I come home from work every day.”

Besides his love for teaching and history, Finan finds time for another passion: traveling.

“I love to travel,” he said. “If I wasn’t doing what I do, I very well might be a travel agent.”

Most of Finan’s exploring is work-related, through the University’s international programs, through which Finan has had some truly memorable experiences.

“I was fortunate enough to meet with representatives of Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest last year because we are developing an exchange program with them,” he said. “They in turn came to campus during Atlas week and we were able to show them campus.”

On top of that, Finan directs an archaeological excavation in Ireland. He has been participating in this for the last five years, and is now in the final stages of it.

Finan also puts his family on his list of hobbies and passions. He has been married for more than 10 years now, and has two sons.

“In reality, my hobbies right now are my two sons,” Finan said.