Piazza '01 receives teaching fellowship

Meeting Mike Piazza is like experiencing intensity embodied in human form. He shakes your hand with a glint in his eye that seems to say: 'Tell me I can't do something, because I'd love to prove you wrong.'

In fact, when looking at his accomplishments, sometimes it's hard to believe that one person could put in that much work. But as he strides through the main gate in front of Nassau Hall on the first Sunday in June, he won't have a job lined up at an investment firm, nor will he be immediately entering a graduate program. Instead, Piazza will be heading off to teach Faulkner to 15 year-olds in England.

As the winner of the prestigious Annenberg Fellowship, Piazza will journey across the Atlantic to teach and mentor at Eton, one of the world's oldest and most famous prepatory school for boys and Prince William's recent alma mater.

The award goes to only one American college senior a year. In 2001, Piazza was the man.

"I feel honored and blessed to be heading over there," Piazza said.

He is also excited to be working within his area of expertise. An English major, Piazza will teach courses in creative writing and English literature.

"The best part is that I will get to completely create two electives that I'll also teach," he said. "That's what I'm most looking forward to."

He is currently considering teaching classes on the literature of the American South and the literature of war. He will also help coach rugby and track.

In examining his past four years, Eton need not question whether or not Piazza is prepared; when he walks through the gate in June, Piazza leaves a legacy of scholarship and achievement at Princeton that is truly mind-boggling.

A glimpse at the Piazza legacy shows an unbridled passion for everything he undertakes. Most senior theses run about 70 to 100 pages; Piazza's is a 600-page novel that he began work on during the summer after his junior year.

"The book is really an example of 'ironic bildungs-roman,' a genre in which the protagonist undergoes a life changing, negative transformation," said Piazza, who plans to submit it for publication sometime soon.

Piazza also played two years of Varsity baseball and was recently elected to the N.J. College Football Hall of Fame. In four years of Sprint football, he was twice selected as an all-conference wide receiver and tight end.

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"Playing sprint football was a make or break experience for me at Princeton," Piazza said. "My coach, Keith Wadsworth, has been inspirational, the team is just a tremendous group of coaches and guys, and one of my only regrets is that it definitely doesn't get the respect at Princeton that it deserves."

Piazza also found time to act in two dramatic performances this semester including Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and is the president of the College Republicans.

Despite this varied and unbelievable track record, Piazza doesn't try to take all the credit. "Princeton is special because, even though you might be overwhelmed when you arrive as a freshman, the absence of a cut-throat atmosphere makes it easy to find a niche," he said. "I feel that I've been encouraged to strive because Princeton is so strong in so many areas."

The only question on which he seems unclear is where this will all lead. After a year at Eton, Piazza plans to try to publish his thesis as a novel, yet he says that he is torn between three possibilities: more writing, law school or teaching.

One thing is certain, no matter what he does, he won't give it a lackluster effort.