Patrick Fritz: The Man

Patrick Fritz has taken a 180-degree turn from his high school days in Harrisonburg where he graduated second from the bottom of his class.

Fritz started working restaurant jobs at 13, and within a few years he began following the older party crowd, slipping into bars at 17. He was on a slippery slope.

His income flourished as his skill-set increased; $30,000- 40,000 per year allowed for ready cash in his pocket, which led him to a lifestyle that he did not wish to continue. Fritz came to the realization that he had to do something else when one night he “looked at a co-worker who was probably in his midforties; he had his job, an old busted up pick-up truck, and a tiny apartment in not the greatest neighborhood; no health insurance, and no retirement plan.” He just did not want to be in that same place in 20 years.

He knew he had to find employment that allowed for advancement and structure so he could continue to help support the family. Finances were so tight that they could not afford to register the family’s car, causing his mother to walk the 10 miles to work because the buses were not running at four each morning.

No one in his family had been to college, and he felt that advanced education was beyond his reach. Fritz kept the possibility of military service in the back of his mind because of his father’s Navy career. Sadly, Fritz’s father died unexpectedly six months after retiring. Luckily, the Navy recruiters were across the parking lot from the restaurant where Fritz worked. He took the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) and the DLAB (The Defense Language Aptitude Battery). He scored equally well on both tests and found he qualified for highly technical fields. Fritz had no interest in anything other than cooking and was told that he was overqualified for a culinary position. Finally, he was allowed to follow his passion for cooking and did so, serving in the submarine force for more than 14 years. He served from 1996 during Desert Storm until March 2011.

When asked if he had any regrets about following his culinary passion in the military, he said, “I am the most insecure nerd, and I am terrified to fail.” He did not want to learn another vocation. Cooking was comfortable to him, and he already knew that he was very good; his boss said so, and his paycheck said so. Fritz has no regrets about his military profession.

Fritz’s military career did not leave him unscarred. He suffers from PTSD even though he was not on the front line. Fritz lost many comrades to battle. The people he served with were his family. Fritz finds that writing helps him deal with his PTSD. He keeps a journal where he writes when he feels the need. At times, he cannot sleep, experiences nightmares, or has memories he just cannot shake. Writing is his therapy.

Transitioning to civilian life has not been easy. Fritz struggled in the various jobs he was able to secure, mixed with bouts of unemployment, eviction and homelessness. He admits, “I was not right. I wasn’t a good husband. I wasn’t a good father. I was not good to anybody at that point. I was no good to myself.”

The past two years became a turning point for Fritz when he began taking classes during the fall semester 2014. His first class was Professor Jennifer Koster’s Honors English. He remembers his stomach churning while waiting for class to begin. He was by far the oldest student and was concerned about holding his own against all those fresh young faces. Just before the class began, an even older student walked in; their eyes met and seemed to immediately recognize “Oh yeah, we’re gonna own this!” These two students competed, but not against each other. Instead, they competed in unison against themselves. Fritz’s incredible journey began in this class.

The class was reading Liz Murray’s book Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard. The first writing assignment was a personal narrative. Something about that assignment “just clicked,” said Fritz. When he got his paper back and saw he had earned an A, he was ecstatic and remembers saying to himself, “I got a win, dagnabbit. I got a win. It lit me on fire. It made me feel like I had value again.”

He scanned his paper and emailed it to his mother with Koster’s remarks written on it. He also showed it to his kids. Fritz realized that he was “not a loser” at that point.

Along with his course work and commuting, Fritz is first and foremost a single father to his three young children: Grace, Rex, and Vinny. He actively participates in their school and extracurricular activities, serves in many PVCC leadership roles and volunteers when he can.

Fritz could have graduated in less than two years because of the number of credits he took each semester, including the summer, but decided he needed to become stronger in a couple of areas. He structured his course schedule according to UVA’s requirements because attending UVA is his goal.

Fritz has recently been recognized for making the All USA Community College Academic Team. Of the 7 million community college students in the nation and the 1800 who were nominated by their colleges for this award, he placed in the top 20 based on academics, leadership and service. As the highest scoring student from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the competition sponsored by USA Today, Follett, Coca-Cola, Phi Theta Kappa and the American Association of Community Colleges, Fritz has also been recognized as the Virginia New Century Scholar for 2016.

Fritz has been taking all of the congratulatory declarations in stride. “Everybody is congratulating me, but it’s the professors and students here that allowed me to succeed. I just did what they told me to do,” he said.