At the end of the jam-packed hallway as a throng of noisy gum-chewing teenagers part, one man stands animatedly talking to each student who passes him, offering a “Good morning!” and a navy “We Are…LT 2014-15” bracelet. This man, LT’s new principal, Dr. Brian Waterman, continues to greet students who come his way in a very off the cuff manner, taking the time to ask students how their summers went and wish them a good day.

Most students appear slightly bemused and perplexed. “Wait a second—who is that again?” is the general consensus that runs through everyone’s head. But as the first few weeks of school trudge by, Waterman has created a large presence in the halls of LT.

Waterman has a lot on his plate during his first year as principal of LT, but his main priority is connecting to the LT community: specifically it’s 4,000 plus student population.

“One thing I try to do is to be as visible as possible, try to see students on a daily basis, try to talk to students and see how things are going and attend events,” Waterman said. “I also do a little bit of social media with Twitter to try to engage with the student population that way. It’s not a one size fits all. I’ve learned over time it takes a lot of different strategies and a lot of different ways to really connect with students so I try to use everything that’s available.”

So far this hands-on approach seems to be working and subsequently has been noticed by the student population.

“If anything [Waterman’s] everywhere,” student representative for the Board of Education, Amanda Bolton ’15 said. “Kids will see him four times before they go to their first period class, which I think is good because then they recognize him as a familiar face. He’s very outgoing in that regard.”

The transition from Hinsdale South to LT has been smooth for Waterman who has been actively involved with the LT community since the beginning of the summer. The reactions from students, parents and staff have been nothing but positive.

Dr. Timothy Kilrea spoke very highly of Waterman’s presence at LT so far.

“He’s a very positive person, very conscientious, and he pushes himself to get better,” Kilrea said. “I have received many positive comments about Dr. Waterman from students, staff, and parents. His primary focus is where it should be-on students-and he is an excellent addition to the LT family.”

In addition to being a new face throughout both campuses, Waterman is also providing a new presence on social media through the implementation of LT’s first official Twitter account: @LTWaterman.

Students have taken notice and vested a great deal of interest in this new social media development for Lyons Township.

Student Council President Thomas Cushing `15 considers Waterman’s Twitter account an essential.

“It is awesome that Dr. Waterman has one and I’d recommend other administrators get one too if they’d like, because almost all students are on Facebook and Twitter. The school has to follow that,” Cushing said. “They have to go where the students are going to tell them what’s going on.”

In regards to the administration’s use of social media, Waterman considers his Twitter to be an experiment for now with room to grow.

“I think it’s kind of one step at a time. We’re kind of experimenting with it in our community because every community is different. We want to see how much success or lack thereof we have with it and my goal would be to generate an environment where it’s seen as a useful communication tool with our community.”

Overall, Waterman’s goal is to make his stay at LT a permanent one and create a lasting impact on the community.

“I feel very strongly in continuous improvement,” Waterman said. “I said this to the faculty on our first day: if we can try to be better tomorrow than we were today, or next year than we were this year. Whether it’s academically, extracurricular or athletically, we’ll continue to move the organization forward and ultimately do great things for students, which is what we’re here for.”