Jack Sheetz: Strumming his spirit

Junior Jack Sheetz has always wanted to play the guitar, but it wasn’t until recently that he was able to explore it as a hobby. Sheetz started playing through a semester-long beginner guitar class Whitman offers. Though he was on the brink of dropping the course due to online school, he decided to stay the course, learning tunes such as “Jingle Bells” and  “House of the Rising Sun” on his school-owned acoustic guitar.

Playing the guitar has entertained Sheetz through quarantine, he said.

“If I wanted to take a break from studying, I would just pick it up and do some little practices,” he said. “I always knew that even if I was staying home, I could at least practice my guitar a little bit.”

Although Sheetz’s school-provided lessons ended weeks ago, his passion for playing burns on. The sheet music he printed from his class sits on his desk, and he won’t hesitate to pick it up whenever he needs a good refresher, he said. Now, though, he’s playing with a different type of guitar.

“I went out today and picked up an electric guitar,” he said. “I’m really hoping some of the skills transfer.”