Born in Buffalo, New York and raised in Western New York, Terry Schnitter now resides in Fluvanna County. He teaches a variety of engineering courses at FCHS including Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Computer Integrated Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering. He also coaches the girls tennis team each spring.
Schnitter spent almost the first two decades of his life living in the state of New York, where he spent a semester at Buffalo University before dropping out. He then spent a few years working and saving up before he decided to give college another try. He attended Erie Community College where he graduated with an associates in Business Administration and certificate in Small Business Management.
He then moved from New York to Pennsylvania with his older brother and wife, then continued his education at Kutztown University. He graduated with a BS in Telecommunications, and a few years later got his teaching certificate and Masters equivalence from Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
Schnitter had retired from teaching after 17 years because he lost one of his sisters and that loss had affected his love for teaching. He said he started questioning why he had chosen teaching when he felt he would be able to make more money with his engineering background in a non-teaching job.
He eventually moved to Virginia to assist of his sisters after the loss of her husband. This led to him restarting his teaching career when Covid hit. He said he felt the teaching community “needed teachers who were not afraid of technology, because it was a whole new world.”
Today, Schnitter not only teaches students about engineering, but also trains students who are interested in playing tennis. He began his coaching career at a school so small it had never had a coach with experience in tennis. He ended up helping the other coach out and after that season, became the head coach.
Schnitter said his favorite thing about coaching is “seeing someone exceeding their own expectations because they put in the practice necessary to achieve.” He is said he is excited for this upcoming season and would like to encourage any girls interested in tennis to attend spring tryouts or visit him in room 4201 to talk about the season.
One fact about Schnitter that may surprise students is that he is vegan, which means he doesn’t consume animal products. He said the only exception is on days where he’s craving something sweet, like a cookie, and isn’t one hundred percent positive about the ingredient list. One of his favorite vegan dishes is a vegan pizza his wife makes from scratch.
