Bzzzz—a classmate glides his clippers across a mannequin’s head, its buzz echoing off the mirrors that line each barber’s workstation. Slow and steady, the student maneuvers his clippers to work out a fade.
Sssss—a towel warmer bursts steam from the corner of the room, its hissing a prelude to the coming facial massages and heated towels. Just like a real barber shop, Corr’s classroom is fitted with amenities for a real-life simulation between barber and client.
Hrrrr—Will Corr activates his own clipper as he packs his stuff into his assigned locker, its rumbling marking the 8 a.m. start of his work day. In the morning, he takes a bus to Barry Tech for his barbering class, then returns to school by fifth period for his core classes.
Although Will Corr, a senior at South High, is now on his path to becoming an established barber, his journey began with uncertainty. During his junior year, Will found himself unsure of what direction to take, unsure of his place at a high school where college seemed like the predetermined choice. While students around him were solidifying their futures, Corr was worried. “It all started last year. I was extremely busy and was having major concerns about finding the right path for myself,” he recalls. Then, an idea came to him. “What if I became a barber?” he asked his friends, half joking, half serious. Though originally offhand, that question became real—real enough that he bought Wahl Clippers from Walgreens and began cutting his friends’ hair.
The process was challenging at first. Corr recalls, “Not many people believed in me… I was using a starter kit and transitioning from basement to basement.” Still, over time, he built a clientele. Will started by posting his results on his barber Instagram account, “wc blends,” where he started to attract more and more people. And at the same time, he found other student barbers struggling to find a path as well. These barbers, Patrick Wong (GNS ‘25) and Matthew Li (Herricks ‘26), were also getting their start, and together, they “pushed each other to do better and grow.”
By his senior year, Will had taken the next step: he enrolled in a joint program at Barry Tech Career & Technical Education Center, where he spends his mornings in a fully equipped barber room. Each morning, he arrives on a bus at 7:45 a.m. just as he would on a regular school day, getting his start on foundational skills under the guidance of an instructor. “It feels like home,” he says, “and it just feels great to see others with the same passion as me, doing what we love most.” There, surrounded by like-minded peers, he hones his skill on mannequins, customers, and friends who stroll in, eager for one of Will Corr’s cuts.
There, silent, just him and his clippers, Will feels comfortable. “I like being quiet when cutting someone. It gives me the focus to give someone the right fade,” he says. In those moments, the noise of the world quiets down for just a moment, until all that is left is the shape of the hair. Cutting becomes almost meditative. “I view it like therapy,” Will says. “It can help me not think about my problems sometimes.”
Still, business isn’t easy, even when you’re doing what you love. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and many bad days when it comes to cutting,” he admits. Social media is full of perfect cuts, filtered highlights, the best-of-the-best wins—Will Corr doesn’t pretend every day is like that. Coming into the barber shop each day, Will is looking to improve, to sharpen his skills and treat each cut “like it’s [his] best one yet.”
But Will isn’t the only one holding clippers anymore. Search any variation of the words cuts, clippers, or blends on Instagram, and a plethora of Long Island, student-based barbers will pop up, all wanting your business. Over the past year, more and more students at South have begun picking up the craft as well. “When I started a while ago, I inspired others to follow their passion while I was learning and growing too,” Corr said.
Even his clients are inspired by him, picking up a pair of Wahl Clippers on their own and cutting their friend’s hair. And when they ask him for advice, he returns to the belief that got him started in the first place: “Always stick to your passion, no matter who tells you otherwise…because at the end of the day, you are doing what is best for yourself.”
