“That’s insane, it’s just crazy that a meme works at our school,” senior Julia Ravenscroft said.

“It is kinda awkward, it’s like ‘You went viral on Twitter, now you work at my school,’” junior Keymiah Armstrong said.

These are just a few of the reactions to #HurtBae, otherwise known as Leonard Long III, who began working at Wilson in December 2018 as an assistant dean.

On Valentine’s Day 2017, Long skyrocketed to fame in his #HurtBae video, in which he discussed his cheating habits with his ex-girlfriend. As part of a two-part video series produced by Conde Nast Entertainment, the second installment debuting a year later, Long’s ex-girlfriend Kourtney Jorge was invited to confront her ex. Long’s resulting minor celebrity status led to immediate recognition by Wilson students. Despite possible negative reactions, Long has embraced the video. “I got to go on Steve Harvey, that was pretty cool,” Long said. He currently has 34,100 Instagram followers, and his feed is filled with pictures of himself and his girlfriend visiting Greece, Colombia, Disneyland, Tokyo, and the Philippines.

Long before he was #HurtBae, Long was a Wilson student. He grew up in Southeast DC, which was still within the Wilson boundaries at the time. Long graduated before the renovation and emphasized the oft-repeated sentiment that Wilson has changed substantially in a short period of time. “There were a lot more Black kids, and a lot fewer white kids when I was here,” he noted.

After graduation, Long attended Morehouse College, where he studied finance and business management, courses that propelled him to one of his current jobs as a realtor. He sells houses primarily in Prince George’s County but all over the district as well. Long explains how he’s glad that his new position as assistant dean allows him to still focus on his realtor business. Long’s duties as an assistant dean currently involve “keeping kids out of the hallways” and being apart of the discipline team. Long says that his position is meant to provide support for the deans.

One of Long’s favorite classes at Wilson was entrepreneurship, taught by Career Technology Education teacher Dee Ward. Ward remembers the young Long as “one of the nicest kids I ever met. Very hardworking—never had a problem with him.”

Long was SGA president his senior year and played basketball all four years. Long still maintains close connections to Wilson basketball today—he is friends with coach Angelo Hernandez, and he goes to the games on occasion.

While at Wilson, Long plans to start a male mentorship program primarily for Black students. Through his mentorship program, he hopes to discuss what it means to be a Black man in society and to educate students on, “etiquette, financial literacy, how to dress, how to eat, and fitness.” Long was inspired to form the program from both his own personal experiences as well as his time at Morehouse, a historically Black college. He plans to launch the program in February.