Delbert “Buzz” Mette — soldier, postal worker and South instructional assistant. It may not be obvious at first glance, but the man freshmen and sophomores see every day sitting at the front of their study hall has led a very eventful life.

During the Vietnam War from 1970-1972, Buzz was in the military; however, he was not drafted. He was made a company clerk in Alaska and he was a mailman. Buzz understood the weight his job held to those serving in the war.

“There’s two things a soldier wants more than anything: their paycheck every month and their mail,” Buzz said. “I’d go to the air force base and pick up the mail twice a day. You make a lot of friends that way. That’s their link to home, more than anything.”

Buzz was a mailman for 36 years. During that time he was able to build and create relationships, which have been sustained even today, with patrons he served.

“I still have friends from back then to this day,” Buzz said. “I was on the same mail route for 31 years, so I saw generations go through there. I’d see them grow up, and I considered them more like friends than patrons.”

Buzz is in his 10th year at South, where he currently works as an instructional assistant, running study hall. In previous years, he has also worked in the halls and parking lots, doing whatever needs to be done, according to Buzz. For him, the most rewarding part of working at South is the relationships he builds with students over the course of their high school careers.

“The aspect of the job I miss more than anything right now is that I’m not in the hallways like I was in previous years,” Buzz said. “I really miss that, the mingling and the interaction with the students. But it’s still okay. Everyone’s got a job to do and you try and do it the best you can.”

Working in study hall also has its perks, according to Buzz. He gets to meet all the freshmen and sophomores, which allows him to build a good rapport with students that he’ll know for the next four years. He also works to treat all the kids equally to build a relationship on the foundation of dignity and consideration.

“I try and be fair,” Buzz said. “The main thing is, you show the kids respect like adults and then they’ll treat you with respect. That’s the key, I think.”

Throughout his life, Buzz has always considered himself very fortunate–despite the challenges he’s faced–because of the people he has met along the way, he said. Buzz recognizes that people, as long as they treat others fairly, will be happy as well.

“I like people,” Buzz said. “People are people. You treat them right, they treat you right. Life is good. Life is what you make it.”