John Schwarz has served as part of the visual staff with the Spartan Marching Band since 1999. He was a member of the Spartan Band from 1994-1998 as a trumpet player. During that time, Schwarz was a squad leader for three years, and in his final year was the trumpet section leader. He was selected by his peers as the band vice president and played trumpet in Spartan Brass.

Schwarz has worked for Michigan State University since 2001. He is currently an Information Technologist I for the MSU Libraries. He has a pair of Bachelor of Arts degrees from MSU, one in criminal justice in 1999 and the other in telecommunications in 2002.