St. Michael’s grad Netzel is a budding Renaissance man with focus

There are 655 windows at Mount St. Michael, and Thomas Netzel is intimately familiar with many of them. The industrious St. Michael’s Academy student has spent countless hours restoring them.

Well, perhaps not countless.

Students at the school are required to complete 30 community service hours per year. Netzel has consistently far surpassed that goal.

“Thomas has completed about 1,168 volunteer hours so far,” said teacher Sister Michael Marie.

While they’ve only restored about 40% of the windows, she knows they wouldn’t have made that much progress without Netzel’s efforts.

“His dedication in giving back to our school is so amazing,” Sister Michael Marie said. “Our building is very old (1915) and it takes lots of work to maintain.”

Refinishing the large windows was painstaking work, but Netzel said it’s one of the “coolest things” he’s done at the school. He’s proud of their historic campus.

“Our school looks like a castle,” he said, laughing. “With a school, a church and a convent, this place is run by volunteers. I learned my work ethic here.”

It didn’t surprise Sister Michael Marie that Netzel’s senior project ended up spawning another labor of love.

“He and another boy volunteered to help coach the younger boys’ basketball team,” she said. “That sparked his desire to refinish the gym floor. It hadn’t been done in a long time, and he spearheaded the effort.”

Though Netzel had never coached before, he said he enjoyed seeing how the boys grew and progressed over the season. Unfortunately, COVID-19 halted the progression on the gym floor refinishing project.

But Sister Michael Marie knows her student well.

“I fully expect him to be back this summer to finish it,” she said.

While Netzel has poured sweat equity into his school, he shines even brighter on the stage.

“The highlight of this short senior year was playing Fagan in ‘Oliver,’ ” he said.

Initially, he wasn’t even sure musical theater was for him. But when the male lead dropped out of “Annie” during his 8th grade year, Netzel was tapped to play Daddy Warbucks, and he went all in.

“I shaved my head and everything,” he said.

In fact, when the other 8th grade boys saw how much fun he was having in “Annie” they got involved, too.

From playing Captain Hook in “Peter Pan,” to Bert in “Mary Poppins,” Netzel has enjoyed every minute of his time on stage at St. Michaels.

“It’s so much fun,” he said. “It’s great to see the audience and other actors smiling and enjoying themselves.”

While he’s comfortable with tools in his hands or dancing across a stage, Netzel said his happiest place is at the piano.

“Music is where my passion lies,” he said. “I write a lot of my own music at the piano.”

His individuality shines there, whether he’s playing an original composition, or lying on the piano bench playing “Heart and Soul” upside down.

Netzel has played background music for small dinner parties and hopes to get more gigs this summer. And his musical theater experience might come in handy for the job he’s already lined up.

“I’m going to be working for a chimney sweep company which is really funny because I played Bert,” he said.

Whatever his future holds, Sister Michael Marie knows Netzel will soar, but his graduation leaves a hole in the small close-knit school.

“He’s always been the type of person you can count on,” she said. “He will be sorely missed.”