Growing up in the blue-collar working class area of Hackensack, NJ taught Mike Pfaff at an early age the values of hard work, courage and toughness. It's these same values, which helped him compete at an elite level and obtain and NCAA Div. 1 Track Scholarhip to attend Penn State University, where he graduated as captain of the team and went on to become "Teacher Of The Year" at South Boston High School while earning his Masters.