Campus Character: Zach Schuetz

“I guess I’ve always had this kind of independent streak,” Zach Schuetz ’11 said halfway through our interview, as though that was not evident from the moment he strolled into the Grille. The bearded New Hampshire native had chosen to accent his hoodie and jeans with a plaid bathrobe, tweed cap, fingerless leather gloves and orange patterned socks with sandals. The backdrop of the Grille, usually warm and inviting, felt pathetically generic in comparison.
Perhaps a stage would have been more appropriate. A theatre and music enthusiast, homeschooled from first to eighth grade, Schuetz quickly found himself on a different wavelength from many of his peers.
“I was involved in theatre and band and a bunch of different groups that weren’t ‘cool’ according to the majority,” he said.
Even his shoulder-length hair and beard — which he stopped shaving senior year — elicit strong reactions.

“People would comment on it and just be like, ‘Wow, it’s so weird that there’s a guy with a beard here,’” he said. “I would just be like, ‘Well, it’s actually sort of the natural state of things for most guys.’”
This matter-of-fact attitude served him well in his transition to Middlebury.
“When I got to college,” he said, “I was like, ‘Wait a minute. There’s no one stopping me from doing whatever I want, wearing whatever I want, spending my time how I choose.’ It’s been a lot of fun.”
With a newfound sense of empowerment and more leisure time than he had to work with in high school, he began to explore a wide range of opportunities. Over the past four years, he has sung with a cappella groups of the Renaissance, Christian and anime varieties; played Quidditch; joined Xenia, the substance-free social house; and played percussion in both the pep band and the pit for the Middlebury College Musical Players. He also enjoys Dungeons and Dragons (a fantasy role-playing game), anime, video games and science fiction stories.

The line between Schuetz’s leisure activity and academic work is blurred when it comes to languages. In total, the Japanese major and linguistics minor has studied five at Middlebury: Japanese, Spanish, German, Sanskrit and Ancient Greek.

“I like to hang out and talk with people about different languages they’re learning and try and compare different structures. I get really excited when you find some obscure word that turns out to be related to … some language that you wouldn’t think.”
Along the same lines, he truly appreciates his classmates’ intellectual drive, both inside and outside of classes.
“I love the academic environment here, but also the sense that you can’t learn everything you need to know from being in class…The liberal arts experience is about educating the total individual, and I really appreciate that.”
Among those who inspire him the most are his academic advisers and the friends he has met here: “really amazing, intelligent, creative people and just good people.”

It seems reasonable to wonder: as one of the College’s biggest fans, how does he think he has contributed to it? In addition to “providing [his] voice” to various musical endeavors, Schuetz is proud of his involvement in the fledgling linguistics program, as a member of the first graduating class with the option of the minor.
“So those are the more tangible things,” he said by way of summary, adding a thoughtful stroke of his mustache. (Something good just had to follow.) On the other hand, “From a personal standpoint, I’d like to think just by walking down the street that I like to shake up people’s expectations.”
And shake he does, often spotted around campus in eccentric combinations of accessories and/or bright colors. Schuetz does not intend these to be taken as mere expressions of self, but as encouragement to follow suit (no pun intended).

“We have a lot of freedom here,” he said, “and I think some people don’t take advantage of that, to say, ‘Hey, you know I’m just going to wear pajamas to class and dress in neon colors today or do something crazy like just get together and find a hill and roll down it.’
Even in small ways, he hopes that his clothing adds whimsy to life on campus.
“The difference between laughing at somebody and laughing with them is not as big as you might think,” he said. “As long as I make people’s days a little more interesting, then I’m definitely happy with that.”

While studying Japanese at Middlebury’s language school, he made an effort to wear costumes to class on Fridays.

“You know,” he said casually, as though it were obvious, “dress up like a wizard or Robin Hood or whatever.”

One Friday, the day of a major test, was particularly memorable.

“I walked into class [in costume], and people started giggling, and I had someone tell me right after the class — in Japanese, of course, because it was Japanese school — ‘I’m so glad that you wore that today because I was really nervous before the test.’”
He hopes that by setting his example, he can remind his peers to take a step back and gain some perspective.
“Yes, there’s a test,” he said of that summer day, “but it’s still Friday, and you can still relax and go a little crazy. That one day, it was all worth it.”

This summer, Schuetz will be doing Java programming for a software company in California. Though all of his previous jobs have related to computer software, there remains “a total disconnect” between his work experience and academic focus.

“I’ve never actually taken a computer course,” he said flatly. “I’ve just sort of picked it up on the side.”

In the fall, he will return to Japan to work for a community outreach program affiliated with His Call Church, which he attended during his semester abroad in Nagoya. He looks forward to coordinating and leading the youth groups that so inspired him during his visit.

“When I went there, it was amazing, seeing the energy they have and the passion,” he said. “I just thought to myself, … it’s music, and it’s languages, and it’s talking to people and it’s something that I would love to be a part of.”

After “at least a year, hopefully two” in Japan, he hopes to return to the States, attend graduate school and teach Japanese.

“I just love the language so much,” he said. “I would love to have the opportunity to share that with others ... even maybe at Middlebury, if that’s possible.”
As he plans for life after Middlebury, Schuetz advises new students to spend the first year exploring their options, academic and otherwise. “

Just stop,” he said, “take some time, get your bearings, find what interests you, do something you never thought you would do and see how you like it.”
And if an email signoff is any indication, this is certainly a man to be trusted.

“Peace and nifty hats, Zach Schuetz.”