Piazza grew up in the Bay Area, and after going to Maybeck High School, attended the Dominican University in San Rafael and San Francisco State University. During his time at college, he fell in love with the philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome, and eventually decided to learn Greek and Latin in order to delve deeper into these philosophies. While learning Latin from the Pope’s latinist in Rome, he made the decision to become a high school teacher and has been teaching Latin to Berkeley teenagers for two years now.