Unless an Art Class or Yearbook meeting forces you across the street, many in the Upper School care little about the exploits in Molloy Posner Hall. But Molloy Posner Hall has become relevant once again in the lives of 9th-12th graders thanks to 11th grader Thomas Harrison. Upon our return to consistent in person learning, Harrison recognized the issue of hair among WT’s student population. Many students’ hair could be considered “overgrown” or worse, hindering their full potential in athletics and academics as their locks got in the way of their vision. Combining this with his long time fascination with hair as an extension of men’s fashion, T-Snips Barbershop began operations on the 15th of December by serving their first client: Senior Toby Kaufmann. From December 15th-17th (the beginning of Winter break) Harrison’s customer base has grown into a small and dedicated group, with four clients served up to that point. He shows no signs of slowing down, immediately going back to work as Anshu Yadigiri was in dire need of a haircut on the first day back from break.

The reception to this pop-up in Malloy Posner Hall has been quite positive. Speaking to client and T-Snips team member Andrius Emerick, he had this to say: “I won’t get into the nitty gritty, but he moistened my head hair and trimmed it down. It was mesmerizing to see a professional in his element, and he even did a good job cleaning up afterwards.” This opinion has been shared with others outside of the T-Snips team. In an Instagram post showing the before, after, and in between of a session with senior Otto Graham, ryan.crc had this to say: “Saved that man’s life.”

As for Voices, we managed to secure an interview with Thomas, also known by his alias “T-Snips.”

Here was the following interview:

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

A: My name is Thomas Harrison, I’m in 11th grade, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I’m a Lifer at WT.  

P.R Team (Anshu): It’s really exciting that [you guys] are writing an article about him 

Q: When did your passion begin for this sort of craft?

A: T-Snips Barbershop began on December 15th, but it’s been my passion for a longtime. Since I was little, I’ve been fascinated with head hair. In my opinion, I think that hair is an extension of fashion itself and it’s important to maintain it, not only for appearance sake but for well-being too. It helps pick up ladies, men, and anything in between.

Q:Why are you doing this?

A: I’m doing it because it’s my passion; My goal is to keep up daily cuts and keep the school fresh. That’s why I’m doing it for free now.

Q: Could you go more in depth about how the barbershop functions:

A: Sure. First we got Toby, who’s our social media manager. He’s the one behind our Instagram account. Then we got Aiden on vacuuming. Once the client’s done, Aiden comes and vacuums the floors, and keeps the room clean. And we’ve got Andrius, who preps our clients to get their cuts; He puts a barber cape on them, seats them, the usual. And Anshu’s our PR guy.

Q: How do you add your own flare to cutting hair?

A: Well, I’ve got this technique called ‘the Shimmy Sham.’ It’s a technique I’ve been developing for years. It goes left to right, and up and down, but it changes according to the situation and requires impeccable handling of your instrument.

Q:What have you gotten out of cutting hair?

A: It brings me great joy to do this and to see people feel fresh.

Q: Where do you see yourself in the future with this endeavor?

A: I hope to keep up daily cuts, and keep the school fresh. I’m hoping that I can do all the teachers one of these days and continue to help the community. In ten years, though, I’d hope to see myself owning a real barber shop. That’d be awesome.