How Do Students Get Along With Their Teachers?
Our teachers strive towards an ideal of friendship with their students that flows from the Academy’s Salesian spirit. We seek a rapport that is marked by good will, respect, and affinity. Following in the footsteps of St. John Bosco, Academy teachers speak to students in the language of the heart, and students in turn are moved to look upon their teachers as friends and benefactors who seek their good.
When correction is necessary, students avoid feelings of resentment since such actions are accompanied by friendly admonishments which appeal to reason and the reaches of the heart. As St. John Bosco said: “A master who is only seen in the master’s chair is just a master and nothing more. But if he goes into recreation with the boys, he becomes their brother.” By joining them in their moments of work and play, sharing their labor and laughter, teachers form bonds of friendship with their students that endure for years.
Who Are Your Faculty?
Karen Beebe, Admissions Director
kbeebe@gregorythegreatacademy.org Karen Beebe grew up in Cooperstown, New York and holds a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Mrs. Beebe serves as the Admissions Director, Registrar, and Poetry teacher.
Peter Bennett, Dormfather
Peter Bennett is from Wisconsin and serves on the dorm staff. After graduating from the Academy in 2020, Mr. Bennett attended the University of Dallas where he completed a degree in Business. He enjoys traveling, family time, and being a dormfather for the boys at his alma mater.
Marcus Broom, Dormfather
Marcus Broom is from Rye, New Hampshire. He attended Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, where he captained the soccer and lacrosse teams. He received an academic scholarship from the Catholic University of America and, after two years of study, Mr. Broom attended the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Internship in New Mexico to help build a Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. While there, he learned about Gregory the Great Academy, and now serves as a dormfather before continuing his college career. He is also a folk music teacher and soccer and rugby coach.
John Burger, Farm Foreman
jburger@gregorythegreatacademy.comJohn Burger holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Christendom College and an M.A. in English from the University of Dallas. Mr. Burger teaches Humanities I, Heaven and Earth Science, and Scripture II and serves as the Academy’s Farm Foreman.
Benjamin Cooley, Head Dormfather
Hailing from Maryland, Mr. Cooley attended Rockbridge Academy in Millersville, MD, before attending Grove City College in Grove City, PA, where he earned a degree in Biblical and Religious Studies. After graduating, he taught middle-school history and literature at Faith Christian School in Roanoke, VA, and at the Great Hearts charter school in San Antonio, TX. Mr. Cooley converted to the Catholic Faith after visiting Clear Creek Abbey in 2024. He enjoys reading stories about the saints and Church history, plays folk music on the guitar, and is the Head Dormfather.
Luke Culley, Headmaster
lculley@gregorythegreatacademy.orgLuke Culley received his bachelor’s degree from Thomas Aquinas College and master’s degree in literature from the University of Dallas. He serves as Headmaster, Humanities II and Church History teacher, and is the director of the St. Julian’s Juggling Troupe and the Senior Pilgrimage.
Russell Davis, Dormfather
Russell Davis was born and raised in Utah and graduated from Gregory the Great Academy in 2013. He moved to Montana to pursue a career in agriculture, building fences and working his way into a ranch job, where he took care of cows and put up hay. Besides ranching for a decade, Mr. Davis also has made regular commercial fishing trips out of Kodiak, AK. A through-and-through outdoorsman, Mr. Davis enjoys hunting, riding horses, skiing, and his position at the Academy as a dormfather, coach, and farmhand.
Sean Fitzpatrick, Assistant Headmaster
sfitzpatrick@gregorythegreatacademy.orgSean Fitzpatrick is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College. He serves as the Assistant Headmaster and teaches Literature I and II, Drama, and guides the upper-form leadership roundtables. He and his wife, Sophie, live in Scranton and have seven children.
Jim Hanisch, Teacher
Mr. Hanisch has been involved with St. Gregory’s since its founding in 1993 and is a beloved teacher and mentor. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas where he studied under John Senior’s Integrated Humanities Program. Besides his work as a staff writer for The Fatima Center, Mr. Hanisch teaches Latin and serves as the campus groundskeeper.
Anthony Hierro, Teacher
Anthony Hierro is a graduate of the University of Dallas, where he majored in business and accounting. After a stint in the I.T. field, Mr. Hierro worked at the St. Anthony Shelter for Renewal in the Bronx. He enjoys coaching sports, having played rugby in his Dallas days, and also reading, with a special regard for Tolkien, Waugh, and Hemingway. Mr. Hierro teaches Algebra I-II, Physics, Trivium, Pre-Calculus, and serves as soccer and rugby coach.
Nathan Lefler, Professor
Nathan Lefler is Associate Professor of Theology in the department of Theology/Religious Studies at the University of Scranton, where he teaches courses on Grace, Friendship, Hagiography, and Worship. He has published articles on the Psalms, St. Augustine, St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas, Balthasar, Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien, Flannery O’Connor and Catholic liturgy. He leads the Academy’s Senior Theology seminar and lives in Scranton with his wife, Annie, and three children.
Michael Miller, Director of Operations
mmiller@gregorythegreatacademy.orgAfter twenty years pursuing his love of carpentry and woodworking and becoming a general contractor, Michael joined the Academy to serve as Director of Operations to apply his skills as a master craftsman to beautify and care for the building and property. Michael is teaching Euclidean Geometry as well as a woodworking guild for the boys. He and his wife, Kaylie, live in Elmhurst, PA with their eight children.
Kaylie Miller, Parent Liaison
kmiller@gregorythegreatacademy.comKaylie Miller is a graduate of Christendom College, homeschooling mother, and serves as the Parent Liaison for the Academy.
Matthew Nickel, Professor
Matthew Nickel received his Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Louisiana and has taught college English for two decades. His teaching and scholarship have focused on Hemingway, modernism, poetry, and the intersections of literature and Catholicism. More recently, he has founded and manages, with his wife and son, Divine Mercy Farm, a mission farm to feed the poor and religious communities in northeast PA. A long-time admirer of Gregory the Great Academy, he considers it a great honor to be able to teach the Academy’s Junior Theology Seminar.
Luke Northup, Dormfather
Luke Northup of Maryland converted to Catholicism in high school. He is an avid and active participant in local politics and ran a campaign for a local chair office in Oregon and has organized and participated in several prolife rallies. With 500 nautical miles to his name, Mr. Northup also enjoys sailing, and in his desire to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, he undertakes an annual expedition overseas in small crafts to places including Bermuda. Mr. Northup brings his appetite for adventure and action to his role as a dormfather for Gregory the Great Academy.
Paul Prezzia, Business Manager
Paul Prezzia holds a B.A. in History from the University of Pittsburgh, and an M.A. in History from the University of Notre Dame. He joined the development team of Gregory the Great Academy in 2012 and serves as school Business Manager, teaches Latin, and leads the strength training program.
Daniel Schiller, Assistant Dean
dschiller@gregorythegreatacademy.orgDaniel Schiller is a native of New Baltimore, NY. He graduated from Ave Maria University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He teaches American History, supervises Senior college preparations, and is the Assistant Dean. Mr. Schiller lives in Waymart, PA with his wife, Clare, and four children.
Christopher Smith, Development Director
Christopher Smith serves as the Director of Development. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Christendom College in 2007, and an M.A. in National Security Affairs from The Institute of World Politics in Washington DC in 2011. He lives outside of Front Royal, VA with his wife, Kathleen, and their three children.
Garret van Beek, Athletic Director
gvanbeek@gregorythegreatacademy.orgGarret van Beek received his degree in Sociology from the University of Ottawa. Garret is the Athletic Director, and the Head Coach of the soccer and rugby programs. He teaches Natural History I and II, and with his wife, Claire, is father to eight children.
Rev. Carlos Viego, Chaplain
Rev. Carlos Viego is a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark. After graduating from Seton Hall University, he entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland and was ordained to the priesthood in 1998. Fr. Viego holds a licentiate in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America and a doctorate in Philosophy from Holy Cross Pontifical University in Rome. He served as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Newark where he ministered to Hispanic groups such as the Legion of Mary, and most recently as chaplain for Thomas Aquinas College in Massachusetts. Fr. Viego enjoys tennis and billiards, the outdoors, Gregorian chant, and classical music. Serving as the Academy’s chaplain, Father also teaches Latin and Liturgy.
Matthew Williams, Residential Dean
mwilliams@gregorythegreatacademy.orgMusic Director Matthew Williams holds a degree in music from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where his primary instrument was the piano. Having been involved in church music from an early age, Matthew has participated in and conducted many choirs, is an organist for several parishes and gives private piano lessons. In addition to directing the Schola and teaching Sacred Music, Matthew serves as Residential Dean at Gregory the Great Academy.
Seth Winter, Teacher
Seth Winter of Nebraska has a B.A. in Philosophy from St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Lincoln and is currently finishing his M.A. in Theology from Franciscan University. Mr. Winter enjoys exploring where the intellectual, philosophical, and theological traditions of the Church intersect with the heart and psychology. Having recently taught humanities, Latin, rhetoric, theology, and philosophy for S.O.L.T. Missions in Belize, Mr. Winter teaches Ancient History, Latin, and Scripture I while continuing to enjoy soccer and basketball and the works of Chesterton and Pieper.