Welcoming Amy Wiese
Amy Wiese after an interview in her office (Alexa Rios, The Puma Prensa)
Written By: Natalia Woods, A&E editor
Amy Wiese– she’s an avid snowboarder. She’s backpacked across Australia for a month. She’s swam with sharks. And she’s also taken on the role of principal of Maria Carrillo High School.
Wiese has been working at Carrillo since 2018, but it wasn’t until recently that she seriously considered becoming a principal. “At the time when I was first asked to be principal, I was honored, but my oldest child was a sophomore here, and I wanted his first few years here to be normal,” explained Wiese. But now that her kids are either graduated or upper-level students, it was time to take the position.
Wiese has big plans for the future of Carrillo and especially hopes that we can all put the pandemic and fires behind us and “reach forward.” Because it’s the year of the Active Learner, she wants every student to be engaged and involved with their learning, but she also wants to ensure that everyone does something to make them a part of Carrillo’s community. “Join a club, be part of an athletic or academic team, do electives, performing arts– whatever it is, I want everyone to feel a part of our school,” Wiese explains. She’s known that she’s wanted to improve the school’s community since the return from Covid, and now Wiese is in a position where that can happen. As vice principal, Wiese mainly oversaw specific areas, but this year, as principal, she has an umbrella position and oversees all sorts of things, especially managing communication with everyone involved at Carrillo.
Though she’s extremely excited to be in this position and has proven to be an outstanding teacher and administrator, Wiese didn’t always want to work in education. She explains that though she had been a natural teacher from a young age, she never considered going into it as a career because she “knew it wouldn’t provide enough for [her] family.” Eventually, Wiese realized that “when you’re a natural teacher, there’s no escaping it,” and decided to explore her passion for teaching despite her initial objections. “My addiction is when kids get that ‘aha’ moment– I love watching them grasping something. So [teaching] was worth it.”
Even with Wiese taking on this new role, things haven’t been exactly perfect since this year started– especially because Carrillo is short an administrator. “It’s three people trying to do a four-person job,” Wiese explains, “so it’s been busy, taking on extra hours and work– sometimes I get 300 emails a day.” She hopes it will slow down, but in the meantime, the community and parent group are extremely supportive and understanding. “Everyone knows we're not in an ideal situation, but they are all trying to help.”
Despite these hardships, Wiese truly loves Maria Carrillo. She shared that her favorite part of the school is the people: the staff, parents, and especially the kids. Wiese describes Carrillo students as “top star active learners” and loves to see what they can do academically or otherwise. “I’m always just so amazed at what they can accomplish, whether it's on the football field, volleyball court, on stage, academics, or speaking languages,” Wiese explains. “Even kids whose school isn’t their passion are still amazing, and I love seeing what they can do.”
Wiese gives a wonderful piece of advice to all Carrillo students: “Find something that interests you and be a part of it.” She encourages everyone to find a group on campus, “get involved, make new friends, and follow your passion.”