By Annie Reed

Every year, new staff members contribute to Collegiate’s impressive faculty lineup. This year, in addition to the permanent faces on campus, Collegiate welcomes four members of the Fellows’ Program, a new addition to the school. The program is intended to guide aspiring apprentice teachers as they shadow Collegiate teachers for a year. The Director of the Fellows’ Program, Dr. Leah Angell, described it as a program to teach “aspiring educators with mentorship [and] classroom experience.” Through this year-long program, the goal is for these Fellows to be able to teach independently and learn from some of Collegiate’s greatest.

Peak with his daughter. Photo credit: Lat Peak.

Upper School history Fellow Lat Peak has had a distinct journey to becoming an apprentice teacher at Collegiate.

Peak was born in Winter Park, Florida, but raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended Woodberry Forest School and pursued his education at Washington and Lee University. Peak majored in business, specifically wanting to get involved in the private sector. After Peak graduated, he landed a job in real estate, where he worked for four years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. From here, Peak realized a desire to get into education. He attended the University of Richmond for a semester in the Masters of Education program before his wife landed a job with consulting firm Deloitte in London, England. Peak and his wife got married in December 2021 and were in London by January 2022. There they welcomed their daughter, Frances, and they would not move again until July of this year, when they returned to Richmond. 

Growing up, Peak was always encouraged to take the business route. He was constantly reminded by his parents that business was the most “marketable to the job market.” Part of him always wanted to teach, but no one in his family had ever been involved in education. 

During the height of COVID-19 restrictions, Peak found himself more interested in history than ever before. Through all the repetitive days and the news getting worse and worse, Peak reminisced, “Everyone had a weird hobby during COVID-19, and I definitely started getting really into history.” Through Ken Burns documentaries and reading various historical novels, Peak’s passion for history expanded into something new. 

After he moved to London, Peak finalized his decision to get involved in teaching history. “To [the British], history is everything, like sports for us.” Peak dusted off his knowledge of Roman and ancient history, trying to keep up with the history fanatics. While in London, Peak applied for Collegiate’s Fellows’ Program, attending various Zoom calls internationally and learning more about a program 4,000 miles away. 

As Peak readjusts to a different culture than the one he lived in for four years, he has felt welcomed into the Collegiate community with open arms. He is currently working with the history department and collaborates with Upper School history teachers Suzanne Lewis, Rob Wedge, and Shannon Castelo in their classes, ranging from AP US History to AP Microeconomics. Through his observations, he has learned different styles of teaching and is beginning to understand what strategies he plans to implement when he begins teaching. Peak said that the Fellows’ Program is “an easier way to transition” to teaching, as opposed to being brought in with no prior student-to-teacher classroom experience. 

According to Dr. Angell, Peak “is fully engaged in the Fellows’ Program curriculum,” implementing what he learned from his graduate work and teaching in the classroom. He is also assisting with Darr Davis and sharing his background in finance and business with the students in the club.

While he is easily adjusting to a new community and job, Peak has also observed the challenges of being a career teacher. He found it particularly amazing how each teacher “takes command of the room,” something he believed would be challenging. One of Peak’s “biggest fears as a history teacher is they ask you questions, and you do not know the answer.” The greatest advice he has used to overcome these struggles is his realization that “there will always be rewarding moments” that make everything worth it.

After this program, Peak hopes to begin teaching somewhere in Richmond, even possibly Collegiate, because he enjoys the academic atmosphere and that each student is “intellectually curious.” Peak has also enjoyed being an assistant coach of the girls’ varsity tennis team, something he is hopeful to continue along with teaching. Peak is extremely “grateful to be a part of the inaugural Fellows’ Program” and is sure that this program will set him up for a bright future in teaching.