Colfax 'Music Man' mayor gets diploma

Garth Meyer | Nov 08, 20120

Josiah Schu, who played the mayor in “The Music Man” and “Lil’ Abner” in Colfax High School productions in 2009 and 2010, received his high school diploma at the district’s school board meeting Oct. 22.

It was 11 days after he turned 21.

“I had gone too far to quit,” said Schu. “I was very close to dropping out a couple of times. I pretty much was lazy my first two years of high school. The only reason I didn’t quit, at first, was everybody was telling me it was a bad idea.”

Schu started school a member of the class of 2009. His sister Bethany was a year behind him.

As the years passed, Schu said, he was deemed hyperactive and required to take medication in middle school through ninth grade. He attended various schools, from Rosalia to Pullman.

“There never was a time I wasn’t (enrolled) in school, but there were years I didn’t go to school,” Schu said.

Insomnia made the mornings a challenge, he said.

“I actually loved being at school, the only reason I wasn’t there is I was never sure I could get there in the mornings,” he said.

Meanwhile, he fell behind.

Bethany graduated in 2011. Josiah still wasn’t done.

By this time, he was partially enrolled, taking the classes he still needed to have. Then, since January of this year, just his senior project remained as a graduation requirement.

For that he was supervised by Colfax Superintendent Michael Morgan.

A panel convened on the night of Oct. 16 and Schu presented his project, a song he wrote, which he played on bass guitar live to recorded piano.

“He did a really good job with it,” said new Colfax High Principal Buck Marsh, who recommended Schu to the board for a diploma. “It was intricate, it was pretty impressive.”

A week later Schu was asked to come to the school board meeting.

He arrived and Supt. Morgan and the board presented him with his diploma, already in the case.

Schu shook the hand of each board member, and they congratulated him.

“It feels absolutely great. More so that I don’t have to worry about it anymore than that I finally have it,” Schu said.

He said that the times he almost quit, he waited.

“I realized that I’m kind of impulsive, so I gave it some time before I actually acted on it,” Schu said.

He says what he’ll remember most from high school is acting in the plays and singing in choir, not to mention math and history classes.

“Pullman offers better classes, then I kind of realized Colfax has better teachers,” said Schu.

Now that he’s graduated, Schu is looking for a job.

In his free time, he continues to play bass guitar.

“I have played in three awful bands,” he said. “In one, aside from me, no one was interested in actually playing music. I was part of that band for one day, and it never happened again.”

Now, for the time being, he just practices — emulating Geddy Lee of Rush and John Entwhistle of The Who in particular.

He now can play every song from Rush, except “YYZ.”

“I still screw up every time at the same part,” said Schu. But he said he’s still working on it.

“Oh yeah. I’m gonna try and make it so I can pretty much play anything.”

As for liking history in the schooling he is now finished with, he said what he most enjoyed about it was one thing.

"The building blocks that make up a civilization," said Schu.