Have you ever wondered how Mr. Reiser became a principal and how he feels about the rumors surrounding study halls and tournaments? Well, I am here to tell you.

To start, if you didn’t know, Mr. Reiser was a student at this very school.

“My overall experience as a student was positive,” said Mr. Reiser. “I felt like I had good teachers who helped prepare me to go to college.”

He attended Allegheny College and then ended up getting a masters degree at DePaul University. He taught science in the suburbs of Chicago for six years and coached football and girls basketball. Also, before Mr. Reiser become an Athletic Director at our lovely school, he coached football at Thiel college for 15 years, eight as an assistant and seven as the head. 

“It’s definitely a different path than what most people would take to be a principal,” said Mr. Reiser. 

He became assistant principal in 2023, and now as you know, the principal. 

“Mr. Trofimuk, his guidance, and his mentorship for two years was important,” said Mr. Reiser. “He was valuable in shaping the way I think.”

As a principal, he takes on different responsibilities than he did as the assistant. 

Mr. Reiser said, “As an assistant principal, it’s a little more building relationships with students. As a principal, it’s the staff.” 

Many students might think that Mr. Reiser is an evil person trying to ruin our lives by taking away study halls and tournaments before the holidays, but the truth is not only will he not be taking away anything soon, he is more than willing to talk to students about rumors.

“Come ask me and I’ll tell you,” said Mr. Reiser. “My door is open.” 

Mr. Reiser cannot just take study halls away, nor does he want to. 

“I had made a statement, [in the cafeteria, observing a study hall] because it was loud and no one was doing anything. I said ‘If no one’s going to do anything, we are going to take it away.’”

I believe that he meant this in a sarcastic way rather than in a literal sense.

“People hear something and just go with it, then it turns into posts on social media, and then it snowballs,” he said.

As for the Spikeball tournament, Mr. Reiser said, “I have to balance those fun activities with taking away instruction time while taking into account feedback from teachers.”

Mr. Reiser has assumed a difficult role as principal, and is also human, which means he is prone to making mistakes or decisions that students may disagree with. He is willing to take responsibility for decisions he has made and will make in the future. 

“As a leader, you have to be willing to say I made a mistake, I’ll do better next time,” said Mr. Reiser.