As a current World Geography and AP World History teacher at OLSH, Ms. Jennifer McPeak has chosen a different career path after many years of serving as a litigation attorney.
“I practiced law for over 25 years. I enjoyed being an attorney, but I felt like I needed to do something more rewarding, so I explored the idea of being a teacher and decided that it was a step that I wanted to take.”
Ms. McPeak attended Allegheny College and obtained her BA in Political Science and a Juris Doctor degree from Capital University School of Law. She worked as a lawyer at Burns White LLC before ultimately going back to school to obtain her Masters in Education from Carlow University in 2022. After serving as a building and long term substitute at Pittsburgh CAPA, she was inspired to pursue her first full time teaching job at OLSH this school year.
“I was impressed by OLSH’s reputation for academic rigor and its faith-filled community,” McPeak said.
Faith has always been an important part of Ms. McPeak’s life, as she had grown up in a close-knit Catholic family and attended Catholic schools. She has been part of the Sacred Heart Parish community since childhood, attended Sacred Heart for grade school, and was the last graduating class of Sacred Heart High School before it merged to become Oakland Catholic.
Ms. McPeak grew up in Highland Park, Pittsburgh with three other sisters, and remains very close with each of them and her other family members.
She has four children (two daughters and two sons), who attend James Madison University, Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic, and Sacred Heart Grade School. She enjoys spending time with her children and is often found in a gym watching her son play basketball or her daughter play volleyball. Recently, she added a new sport to enjoy, as her son has taken up participation in his school lacrosse team.
Although teaching has been a new challenge for Ms. McPeak, being able to teach history to the freshman and junior classes at OLSH has been enjoyable for her.
“Teaching is very different from law, but I get to teach about history (which I love!), continue to learn about it myself, and instill skills in my students that will benefit them in the future. I am enjoying every minute of it!” she said.
Her desire to continue learning is inspirational and helpful in her budding teaching career. “I have always been fascinated with history and enjoy learning about events from the past and how they have influenced our world today.” Bringing that passion into the classroom keeps her students engaged and interested in her lessons.
Fully immersing herself into the OLSH community, Ms. McPeak is also lending her legal expertise to the Mock Trial team, joining as a coach this school year. Her addition to the team should be beneficial to OLSH students by offering them a different insight into the courtroom.
As a new member of the OLSH family, Ms. McPeak has been delighted by her experience here so far. “OLSH is wonderful. The people have been very friendly, welcoming, and helpful,” she reflected.
