By Nehitha Jayakumar
You’ve probably seen Mr. Weiss, our new interim principal, walking around the halls of East. He never fails to have a smile on his face and is always willing to talk to students and teachers throughout the day. However, some of you might not know a lot about him, so we interviewed Mr. Weiss to help all of you get to know our new interim principal better.Â
Mr. Weiss grew up in Rochester, NY, and attended the University at Buffalo. He graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Russian; when asked about his unique choice of study, Mr. Weiss explained that his friend told him that it would be a good challenge. Growing up, Mr. Weiss loved sports, and played basketball and baseball. Additionally, his favorite subject in school was either math or English. When asked which job he would have liked to pursue if he did not become a principal, he stated that he would have loved to work in the government, specifically in the Russian department.
Mr. Weiss told us that every day is different for him at East. He loves to walk around the halls of East, visiting classrooms and the commons throughout the day to talk to students. However, he added that his least favorite part of the day would probably be the numerous boring meetings he had to attend. Mr. Weiss explained that his favorite part about East students is their friendliness and well-behaved nature; furthermore, he acknowledged that the staff has been unbelievably kind and welcoming towards him.
Mr. Weiss’s children and grandchildren went to Williamsville East High School. Therefore, he has only ever heard about East through their perspectives, so he is looking forward to seeing the school with his own eyes and experiencing it first-hand. Mr. Weiss chose his career path in administration because of his love of educating and interacting with kids. He also believes that the most important part of being a principal is listening to both sides of a situation. Mr. Weiss strives to be someone that students can freely talk to.
Outside of school, Mr. Weiss has lots of hobbies, including acting and writing. Additionally, he raises horses and plays pickleball. His favorite movie is Wait Until Dark, a film directed by Terence Young, and his favorite singer is Billy Joel, which is coincidental, given his first name is Joel. Mr. Weiss’s favorite food is pasta, and his favorite author is John Grisham. When asked about where he would like to travel, Mr. Weiss stated that he loves to go to Costa Rica for vacation. Something else on Mr. Weiss’s bucket list, and I’m assuming a lot of ours, is to attend a Superbowl, specifically one in which the Bills are playing. Finally, when asked if he would rather travel back in time or to the future, Mr. Weiss stated that he would want to travel to the future. He explained that his father often recollects how much things have changed from his time to our time now. Therefore, Mr. Weiss would want to see how much more the world would have changed 50 years from now if it had changed this much from his childhood.
Hopefully this article has helped you all get to know Mr. Weiss, our new interim principal, better.
