Faculty Friday Spotlight: Ms. Melanie Piendak

Happy Faculty Friday! As our seniors’ college acceptances continue to roll in, it’s a great time to highlight the Director of College Counseling and Guidance, Ms. Melanie Piendak! Ms. Piendak has been a part of the Saint Joseph Prep community since its doors opened in 2012. Previously, she taught Theology and served as the Director of Campus Ministry and Counseling at Trinity Catholic.

Ms. Piendak was born in Maryland, but her family moved to Dracut, MA when she was 10 years old. Although she attended public school growing up, she unwittingly applied exclusively to Catholic colleges and universities. With a Jewish mother and Catholic father, she didn’t come from a strong religious background, however she knew she wanted a school that offered more than just an excellent education; she looked for schools that were mission-driven. With this in mind, she attended Stonehill College and received her B.A. in Communication.

After graduating from Stonehill, Ms. Piendak joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps where she worked as a crisis hotline counselor and volunteer coordinator for a non-profit organization. When her yearlong commitment ended, she moved to San Francisco where she worked full-time at the Archdiocese while also earning her M.A. in Art, with an emphasis on Theology, Social Justice, and Catholic Education at the University of San Francisco. Returning to Massachusetts, she took a job at Trinity Catholic and began a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, this time focusing on Counseling Psychology. The definition of a lifelong learner, Ms. Piendak is currently working on her third Master’s degree, studying Educational Leadership at Boston College.

When she isn’t working or studying, she enjoys taking Zumba, yoga, and barre classes, hiking, and traveling. One of her goals is to see every Major League Baseball stadium within the next 10 years! She is a big sports fan, even though she admits she isn’t the best athlete. “I was kicked off my high school basketball team because I was not good,” but that hasn’t stopped her from loving the sport!

Having been part of the SJP community since its establishment, Ms. Piendak has noticed many positive changes, most significantly in terms of curriculum and faculty. Throughout the past five years, the administration has “worked hard to solidify what we feel is a strong college prep curriculum” including the addition of more AP classes and the required SAT/ACT prep course. She also notes that the new faculty on campus have helped bring in a “new lens of what can make SJP excellent.”

Not only does Ms. Piendak help students in the Guidance office, she is very involved in Campus Ministry! For the past five years, she has attended many of the Kairos retreats and has gone with students on service trips to Appalachia and the Dominican Republic. This April, she will be going to Haiti with SJP students on the Alternative Spring Break. In addition to individual fundraising for the upcoming trip, she will be hosting a Zumbathon on campus on March 26!

Thank you Ms. Piendak for everything that you do to help our students grow at SJP! If you would like to help support the upcoming trip to Haiti, please check out the Haiti Project page on our website, including more information about the Zumbathon!