Joseph Fetsch has no hobbies. In his spare time, he studies. On bus rides with the band, he does homework.
Afterward, he goes home, sleeps for four-six hours and does it again.
His schedule leaves no spare time. Fetsch, 47, is a full-time student, instructor and member of the Auburn University Marching Band.
His days consist of four upper-level accounting courses, teaching two classes on aviation management and playing trumpet in the band.
Fetsch said he wanted to join the marching band ever since he stood in the end zone at Jordan-Hare Stadium during a game for ROTC duty.
"I got to see the band go, and that whole performance was really overwhelming," Fetsch said. "I decided if I ever was a full-time student, I would live that chance."
The game was a different experience for Fetsch, who originally graduated from a private university, Clarkson University, in New York.
The small, upstate college didn't even have a football team.
"We just never experienced anything like being in Jordan-Hare," Fetsch said. "My first year at Auburn was the undefeated national championship season, so that probably helped."
He said he likes the band specifically, his fellow trumpet players, who earned the dubious honor of "Most Egotistical Section" at last year's band banquet.
"If you're good, there's nothing wrong with knowing you're good," Fetsch said.
He said band life is enjoyable despite the weird relationship and age gap between him and the average marcher.
He said he prefers to avoid the band's extracurricular activities and declines invitations to parties. Fetsch attended one once, but left early.
"It was more fun without me there," Fetsch said. "Besides, I've had more fun than they're ever going to have."
Fetsch had his fun in the Air Force, whose members enjoy his practical jokes and tomfoolery.
"We call them spirit missions," said retired Major Dale Lightfoot, who worked with Fetsch in the Auburn ROTC program. "It's a culture in the Air Force."
When a superior officer complained about trucks blocking his parking space, Fetsch acted.
"I took a 10,000-pound all-terrain forklift, went over to his car, picked it up, took it over to the loading docks and put it between these two ramps," Fetsch said.
The superior officer's Honda Civic was stuck between the ramps, bumper-to-bumper, impossible to move.
"I thought it was really funny," Fetsch said.
Last April, when his children, Mike, 16, and Karen, 12, returned home from school, Fetsch directed them to "brownies" in the kitchen.
They left disappointed, finding only a foil-wrapped plate of brown-colored capital letter "E", or brown-E's.
Fetsch was known for his sense of humor when he served as commander of the Auburn Air Force ROTC Detachment.
When he would announcegood news or scholarships, the colonel favored a red-and-white Santa Claus hat.
Fetsch worked hard at the job though, sometimes staying on duty for 12 hours per day.
Lightfoot called him an absolute perfectionist, someone who drove himself and the Air Force ROTC cadets to give their best effort in every activity.
"He was really passionate about taking care of the students," Lightfoot said. "He was just a big cheerleader and fan for them."
Fetsch could be competitive at times, according to Lightfoot.
In 2011, Auburn held the Gamma Cup, a competition among Air Force ROTC detachments from schools including Clemson, Alabama and Tennessee.
When the organizers put together a flag football game for the senior staff members, the colonel played receiver intensely.
"Colonel Fetsch, for being in his mid-40s, was doing these crazy routes every time," Lightfoot said.
Fetsch retired on Oct. 31, 2012, to avoid a transfer to South Korea.
"It just got to the point where that was too much family sacrifice to do," Fetsch said.
He enrolled at Auburn to study accounting in spring 2013.
Fetsch said he hoped to become a certified public accountant specializing in tax work.
The father of three juggles his other commitments with classwork and trying to maintain his 4.0 GPA.
Jefferson Jones, associate professor of accounting and one of Fetch's professors, spoke highly of Fetsch's academic abilities.
"Always prepared; always gave great effort," Jones said. "I could not have asked for anybody to be more conscientious."
Fetsch said accounting appeals to him because he can take it at half speed, a happy prospect after 25 years of military service.
"Now what I want back is time," Fetsch said. "Time is the most valuable resource."
He said he also wants to spend more time doing something good to make a difference, and spend more time with his family.
His first step? Buying football tickets for them to come see him march every Saturday.
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