Danyel Whyte | Staff Writer
May 15, 2014
People wouldn’t expect a counselor from Riverside City College to have toured with Grammy award-winning band Green Day. However, counselor Garth Schultz has explored the world, gone on tour with alternative and punk rock bands and ended up back to where he started, RCC.
With a 16-year connection to the college, Schultz has impacted the lives of many incoming and transfer students. He believes that community college is a great place to find a personal identity and enjoys sharing its value. “Working as a counselor is my identity,” Schultz said. “I don’t see myself as a musician.”
Schultz began with an interest in music and theater at a young age. His brother played drums for a septet band based out of Riverside known as The Skeletones, which landed Garth the position of playing trombone. He later joined the punk-ska band Goldfinger and played for them until he took he took his role as the trumpet and trombone player for Green Day.
“One thing kind of leads to another,” Schultz said. “It wasn’t that I was seeking out new opportunities, one just kind of fell in my lap.”
His best experience with Green Day was when they toured in Italy.
“We went to the Vatican,” Schultz said. “The art was so overwhelming, the sight of the place, there were original pieces of art and statues that were mind blowing.”
He didn’t practice while in Italy. Before shows, they would do a sound check to make sure the quality of their sound was good. Sometimes he had days in between performances to explore.
“It was great being young without having a care in the world,” Schultz said.
Prior to his musician history and involvement in Green Day, Garth served as a US Marine in Japan, Camp Pendleton and the Persian Gulf. In late 1999, after his time over seas, Garth used his GI bill to complete his associate degree at RCC.
“They walked me through the process back then and I try to do the same for incoming veterans,” Schultz said.
Although he does not limit himself to veteran students, Garth enjoys relating to their needs and answering any questions they might have.
“I want to help people who are as lost as I was when I stumbled through those doors,” Schultz said.
Schultz recently impacted Juan-Carlos Moran, a recent transfer student to RCC.
“He immediately helped me with both class and VA (Veteran Affairs) benefit information,” Moran said. “Thanks to Garth I was awarded a $1000 scholarship. I have to say that for the amount of times that I have met with him he makes me feel as if I have known him for years.”
To this day Garth Schultz continues to impact peoples lives through his past experiences.
“I have done more than just counseling things so I am in a good place to advise students about all that is out there,” Schultz said.
As time passes, and RCC continues as a stepping-stone for many students, Schultz will continue his role in students’ lives, to get them where they need to be.
