Julian Malcolm – Headmaster
Fine Arts, Logic, Theology
jmalcolm@thesummitva.org
BA History, University of Mary Washington
MTS Biotechnology and Ethics, Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, Catholic University of America.
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Evan Williams – Director of Curriculum and Faculty
History, Latin, Math, Science
ewilliams@thesummitva.org
BA Philosophy and Classical Studies, Hillsdale College
MA Philosophy, Marquette University

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John Piescik – Dean of Student Life
Latin, Math, Theology
jpiescik@thesummitva.org
BA Theology and Philosophy, Franciscan University of Steubenville
M.Ed. Administration and Supervision

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Nick Marr – Director of Advancement
nmarr@thesummitva.org
BA Political Science, Notre Dame

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Zach Candler – Instructor, House System Director
History, Math, Science, Theology
zcandler@thesummitva.org
BS in Aerospace Engineering and minor in Mathematics, Virginia Tech
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Patrick Clark – Instructor
Fine Arts, History
pclark@thesummitva.org
BA, Theatre & BA, History, Virginia Commonwealth University
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Colin Komp – Instructor
History, Latin
ckomp@thesummitva.org
BA Classical Studies, Christopher Newport University
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Sarah McBride – Instructor
Literature, Theology
smcbride@thesummitva.org
BA, Theology, Ave Maria University
MA, Theology, Ave Maria University
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Shannon Pepe – Instructor
Literature
spepe@thesummitva.org
BA English Literature, University of Buffalo
MA Liberal Arts, St. John’s College
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Amy Reese – Instructor
Science
areese@thesummitva.org
BS in Pre-Med Biology, University of Mary Washington
MS, Virginia Tech
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Genevieve Riley – Instructor, Director of Outdoor Programs
Math
griley@thesummitva.org
BA Accounting, Ave Maria University
MS Business Analytics, College of William and Mary
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Julian Sicam – Instructor
Latin, Math
jsicam@thesummitva.org
BA Philosophy, Benedictine College
MA Philosophy, Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas Houston
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Joyce Soderlund – Instructor
Fine Arts
jsoderlund@thesummitva.org
BA English & American Literature and Secondary English Education, minor in Creative Writing, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
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James Stanley – Instructor
History, Literature, Theology
jstanley@thesummitva.org
BA in English Literature, University of Wisconsin
MTS in Theology, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies at the Catholic University of America
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Julian Malcolm

Julian moved to Fredericksburg, VA to attend college at the University of Mary Washington where he received his BA, History in 1997.

Prior to founding the Summit Academy he enjoyed a career managing military and intelligence business for several technology companies. Mr. Malcolm has also helped start and grow multiple successful private businesses throughout Central Virginia. He has also served as President, BOD for Mary’s Shelter in Fredericksburg, VA.

In 2015 he received a MTS, Biotechnology, and Ethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, CUA. He and his wife have been married for over twenty-five years and have 8 children.

Years at The Summit: 7 Years

Evan Williams

Evan Williams developed an interest in classical learning shortly after he finished high school. Prior to his first year at Hillsdale College, he picked up David McCullough’s biography on John Adams and was deeply impressed by Adams’ classical education. Evan would go on to finish his time at Hillsdale with a double major in Classical Studies and Philosophy. In graduate school at Marquette University, Evan was fortunate enough to study under renowned Latinist Fr. Reginald Foster (who served in the Vatican as translator under four popes, even preparing Pope Benedict XVI’s tweets for the Latin Twitter account @ Pontifex_ln). Suffice to say, Mr. Williams learned the importance of making Latin accessible! Evan is a lay Dominican and is currently finishing the dissertation for his PhD at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. Evan, and his wife Lauren, have four daughters.

John Piescik

John Piescik is himself a product of classical secondary education, having graduated high school from Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church, VA. He graduated from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in both theology and philosophy. He returned to his native Virginia with a passion for both theology and for his future spouse, Kathryn with whom he is now happily married for three years with three children. During their engagement, he continued his Theology studies, taking graduate courses at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington,  D.C and working as a substitute teacher for the Arlington Diocese. Mr. Piescik teaches Latin courses for all grade levels, as well as New Testament course. In addition to his classroom experience, Mr. Piescik is also a talented actor, singer, and public speaker. He assists in the development of the Summit’s commitment to promoting the fine Arts by organizing events for the school community to perform drama and music.

Years at The Summit: 7 Years

Nick Marr

Nick Marr has experience at two national non-profits, and he is excited to bring his passion for the Catholic tradition to the Summit. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he served as a research assistant and as executive editor of the Irish Rover. Nick and his wife reside in Fredericksburg. They enjoy being outdoors, traveling, and cooking, and they are the proud owners of nearly 1,000 books. Among Nick’s favorites are Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain, Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

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Zach Candler

Zach joins the faculty at The Summit after a ten-year career with Lockheed Martin as a spacecraft engineer, most of which he spent supporting NASA’s Orion program. During this time, Zach also began graduate studies at the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO while also working serving in parish ministries as the High School Youth Group Leader at St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Lakewood, CO. Prior to joining The Summit, Zach and his family, spent a year in Waco, TX working on a farm with World Hunger Relief, where he gained hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture while continuing his work with young people and managing various on-site immersion programs with Christian youth groups.

An engineer who is also a lover of Catholic theology, literature, and the liberal arts, as a well a burgeoning farmer who can demonstrate the skills of rabbit processing, Zach may be the quintessential Renaissance Man. He relates that what attracted him to his new position is that it is apparent that “The Summit Academy is a school committed to a pedagogy that makes evident the harmony between faith and reason and that goes beyond just imparting knowledge to its students but also seeks to instill wisdom, wonder, and virtue in them.” Zach will be teaching Algebra I, Pre-Calculus, Calculus and New Testament as well as assisting with the development of The Summit’s outdoors program.

Zach graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics minor from Virginia Tech in 2008.

Years at The Summit: 5 Years

Patrick Clark

Prior to joining The Summit, Patrick Clark taught in Stafford, Chesterfield, and Richmond Public Schools. He also cultivated his love of American History by working as a park ranger in National Battlefield Park System. Mr. Clark paused teaching to serve an extended two-year stint in Honduras with the Missioners of Christ.

When pressed on the point, Mr. Clark refuses to adjudicate on “The Beatles or Rolling Stones” debate. Finding the controversy ridiculous, he insists that the title of ‘greatest all-time band’ resides securely with The Kinks.

Years at The Summit: 3 Years

Colin Komp

After teaching part time for The Summit during the hybrid-Middle School phase, Colin joins the school as a full-time faculty member in the 2022-23 school year. A classicist with a range of academic interests from literature to chemistry to theology, Colin is a voracious learner who loves to see young people develop their own interests and become actively engaged in their learning.

Sarah McBride

Sarah studied Theology at Ave Maria University. During her time at AMU, she was involved with the women’s soccer program as a player and coach. She has experience working with middle and high school students in the parish, school, and camp settings, and she is excited to continue working with youth at the Summit Academy.

Years at The Summit: 2 Years

Shannon Pepe

Shannon Pepe graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA in English Literature in 2010, after which she continued her studies in English at the University of Vermont. She received her MA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in 2016. The majority of Shannon Pepe’s teaching career has been spent in either Classical or Catholic schools. She also spent time in 2010 at University of Vermont where she taught freshman composition. After eight years as an educator, she will realize a long-felt desire this Fall as she continues her work teaching in a school that is both Classical and Catholic.
While studying chemistry as an undergrad Mrs. Pepe was captivated by literature. It was through literature that she rediscovered her Catholic faith. She has dedicated her career to studying and teaching the Great Books and cultivating in students a receptivity to truth, goodness, and beauty through dialectic. Prior to joining The Summit, Shannon spent four years in Dallas, TX at the Cambridge School.

Shannon Pepe’s writing has been published in the Voegelin View:

https://voegelinview.com/joy-eternal-recurrence-unexpected-comedy-thomas-manns-joseph-brothers/

and The Imaginative Conservative:

http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2017/09/restoring-poetic-vision-myopic-age-shannon-pepe.html.

Mrs. Pepe teaches all four levels of Literature courses at The Summit, and leads the Senior Thesis Program.

Years at the Summit: 5 Years

Amy Reese

Amy Reese will be teaching The Summit’s Dual Enrollment Biology courses this year. She has juggled a variety of roles as a professional scientist, analyst, riding instructor, home school educator and active member at St. Anthony Catholic Church in King George.  In previous positions Amy has employed her skills in handling radioactive isotopes, working with rare tumors and other tissues types, and working with live laboratory animals. This work has seen her employed as a research assistance at Johns Hopkins Hospital Pediatric Pathology Department, teaching molecular biology courses to undergraduates at Virginia Tech and finally, serving as an analyst at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center in Dahlgren. She will be teaching Biology 101 and 102 this year.

Amy graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a Premed Biology degree and received her Master of Science from Virginia Tech.

Years at The Summit: 5 Years

Genevieve Riley

Genevieve Riley attended Ave Maria University, where she studied Accounting and played soccer. Through backpacking trips in Utah and serving at Camp Wojtyla in Colorado, she discovered a passion for outdoor education and ministry. In August 2023, Genevieve became a certified Wilderness First Responder. Prior to joining the Summit Academy, she worked as a college advisor and athletic director for a K-12 classical academy in Florida. She received her MS in Business Analytics from William & Mary and later worked as a data engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton. Now, Genevieve teaches both middle and high school mathematics, as well as brings forward her experience in soccer and outdoor leadership to coach the HS Girls Soccer team and lead the Outdoor Program.

 

Julian Sicam

Julian Sicam is a graduate of Benedictine College, from which he received a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He continued his studies at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston where he received a Master’s degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate. More recently, his admiration for classical education and his passion for the intellectual tradition of the Church led him to work in Catholic classical schools as an administrator and teacher. He looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm and experience with the Summit community and to helping students deepen their Catholic faith.

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Joyce Soderlund

Joyce Soderlund is a devoted Christian, wife, and mother of seven children. She is also an accomplished educator with twenty-seven years of experience teaching adults and children in multiple classroom settings including private and public schools, non-profit organizations, cooperating homeschool groups, and church programs. Joyce graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature and Secondary English Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. After student-teaching outside Philadelphia in the public school system, she taught children with special needs in New York City and then moved to Virginia to continue with special education. Growing in her faith, she chose to teach in the private Christian school setting for two years before getting married and raising a family. Joyce has a passion for classical education, the liberal arts, and especially the fine arts. She loves drawing, painting, sculpting, working with textiles, singing in choir, and writing short stories.

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James Stanley

James studied English Literature at the University of Wisconsin, and Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, where he completed his M.T.S., and all but the dissertation for his Ph.D. Joining the Summit in its second year, he owes his interest in classical education to a providential series of books and mentors, beginning with a middle-school encounter with the Bible and culminating in his doctoral research on the thought of Christopher Dawson under David L. Schindler. Midwesterners, hailing from Wisconsin and St. Louis, respectively, he and his wife, Jane, married shortly after college and have five children.

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