When the eco-horror film "Frogs" was first released in theatres in 1972, it opened to mediocre reviews. Some described the film as surprisingly scary, while others called it an end-of-the-world junk movie.
For one young teenager, the film was a bone-rattling sensory assault. Delia Caparoso Konzett was so profoundly terrified when the killer frogs appeared on the big-screen she screamed so loudly and passionately that ushers had to whisk her out of the theater.
"I was [so] utterly petrified that, to this day, I'm terribly afraid of scary movies," she said. "Frogs" was not only the first movie Konzett had ever seen in a theatre, it was the first film she had ever seen. But her longstanding aversion to horror flicks aside, the young Konzett's reaction in that crowded cinema forecasted a relationship with the arts that would not be merely flirtatious, but would become a dynamic love affair.
And if Konzett didn't leave an imprint on her fellow theater patrons and staff all those years ago, she certainly turns heads now as a professor at UNH. Her petite frame, short black curls and orange-and-yellow shirt decorated with cartoon sumo wrestlers make Konzett distinguishable from most professors, to say the least. Students within the English department, and many around campus, recognize Konzett by her unique fashion sense; however, it's her dedication to education that places her in the limelight.
An assistant professor of English, Konzett's fields of research include American literature, cinema studies, modernism, ethnic writing, and race theory. However, at UNH she is known for enthusiastically discussing film and teaching students about the complexities of cinema.
The intricate material Konzett is required to teach, such as the difference between syntactic and semantic models of viewing films, would suggest that this professor has her plate especially full. It would hardly seem possible that with such complicated lessons she has the time to discuss something as seemingly mundane as Humphrey Bogart's less-than-impressive height or the sexual innuendos of cigarette smoking in film noir.
Yet, she does, and to great effect. Students vivaciously respond to her lessons as she infuses scholarly material with relatable topics of interest. She screens film classics that have been studied for decades along with recent commercial hits that students recognize and respond to.
"She actively engages her students and wants you to get excited about the subject," said UNH senior Anna Bruning. "I think the world of her. She is a wealth of knowledge and makes you feel like what you are saying is significant and important."
When Konzett stands in front of a class, ready to teach the young minds filling her classrooms, the chatter falls away. Students laugh at her witty jokes ("If I was Bogie, I'd definitely think I was getting a little something" - an enjoyed comment in reference to a scene in "The Big Sleep" in which Bogart and Lauren Bacall unabashedly tease and flirt); they answer her questions, and they come fully prepared to listen and learn.
"She is genuinely passionate and it shows in her teaching," said UNH graduate Matthew Francoeur."
Multicultural Beginning and Beyond
Born in Hawaii, Konzett was raised by strict parents in a household that forbade rock 'n' roll music and cinema. Growing up, Konzett became acutely aware that she was different from her classmates. Instead of going to concerts and movie showings on the weekends, Konzett learned to play the accordion at her parents' prodding.
"I was a big nerd," she said. "I used to go to the Myron Floren Accordion Camp in the summers and I thought that was the normal thing for kids to do at first."
Her self-proclaimed nerdiness contributed to her discomfort in grammar school. She was constantly singled out and used as an example for the color of her skin and ethnic heritage when class discussions steered towards minorities and racism.
Her teachers rarely let her forget that she came from a multicultural background - a background that includes Spanish, Filipino, Chinese and Hawaiian lineage.
In our talks, Konzett said her parental restraints as a child may have made it additionally harder to fit in at school, but it ultimately encouraged her to be unconventional.
"Whatever I wasn't allowed to do, I wanted to do it," she said. Later, it would be this mindset that steered her down a number of different and successful paths in both her personal and professional life.
But the bohemian passions were slow to bloom in the Konzett we now see strutting around campus in flamboyant attire. Slow to shake her family's strictly practical sensibilities, Konzett initially studied business in college, though she admits the subject remained a mystery to her throughout.
"I could not understand for the life of me why it mattered," she said.
Konzett withdrew from her classes knowing she would likely fail them altogether. In a last-ditch effort, she began taking English courses, and suddenly found the tables were turning for her. She was passing her classes and understanding the concepts. She was learning that English wasn't only about composition, but that it more importantly had enormous cultural, horizon-expanding value.
Konzett's fascination and talent for the subject prompted one of her teachers to suggest teaching as a career path.
"It was a major revelation," Konzett said.
Delia soon met Matthias Konzett, her husband-to-be, and traveled with him to Austria, where she studied for four years. She described their meeting as love at first sight, and admitted that moving across the Pond was a giant gamble, but one that was worth taking the risk.
"It seemed so natural to be with him that it didn't really matter to me if it was ridiculous," she said.
In Austria, Konzett encountered racial tensions again that differed from her experiences in Hawaii. "I not only represented Americans, but also the darker people of the world," she said.
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