(Paxton, MA) – March 16, 2022 – Anna Maria College will hold its second annual Celebration of Success and Service, co-hosted by John J. Spillane, Esq., Chair of Anna Maria College’s Board of Trustees and Timothy P. Murray, Esq., Trustee, on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. at the AC Hotel in Worcester, MA. The event will celebrate Anna Maria College’s commitment to service by recognizing alumni and leaders dedicated to their communities.
Register online at: https://annamaria.formstack.com/forms/celebration.
At the event, the Presidential Service Award, Anna Maria’s highest honor for outstanding humanitarian service, will be presented to three individuals who exemplify the College’s mission and values. The 2022 awardees are: Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services Matilde Castiel, MD; Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Firefighter/EMT and Anna Maria alumnus Christopher Koretski; and Worcester Police Officer and Anna Maria alumnus Enmanuel “Manny” Familia (posthumously).
“Anna Maria College will honor three remarkable leaders committed to serving communities which is one of our core values,” said Mary Lou Retelle, president of Anna Maria College. “As a small college, Anna Maria has an outsized social impact when you look at the public service professions our graduates are drawn to and the essential services they provide through those jobs. The same can be said for our honorees: Dr. Mattie Castiel has been at the forefront of Worcester’s battle with COVID-19; Firefighter Christopher Koretski exemplifies how our graduates turn their Anna Maria education into action and opportunity; and Officer Manny Familia made the ultimate sacrifice serving his community. Students come to Anna Maria seeking an education associated with purpose. When they graduate, they go on to bring social impact to their communities. Given all the challenges we face in the world today, we need the Anna Maria’s of the world more than ever.”
Matilde Castiel, M.D.
Matilde Castiel, M.D. is the Commissioner for Health and Human Services for the City of Worcester where she oversees the divisions of Public Health, Youth Services, Human Rights and Disabilities, Veterans Affairs, and Elder Affairs, and Homelessness along with advancing important new initiatives that fall under the scope of youth violence and the current opioid crisis, mental health, reentry from jail and COVID-19. In 2009, Dr. Castiel founded the Latin American Health Alliance (LAHA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating homelessness and drug addiction. LAHA’s programs consist of the Hector Reyes House, a substance abuse treatment facility for LatinX males and two transitional houses, including one named after her. In 2015 LAHA opened Café Reyes on Shrewsbury Street, an innovative jobs training program.
Dr. Castiel has served on the boards of several Worcester nonprofits. Most recently, she has been awarded the UMass Medical School Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service, 2019, Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Award, 2019, LIFT Community Hero award 2019, WBJ 2021 Hall of fame award 2021, Abby Kelley Foster award 2021.
Christopher A. Koretski
Christopher Koretski is a Firefighter/EMT at Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills (C-O-MM) Fire-Rescue on Cape Cod. He is a 2016 graduate of Anna Maria College’s Fire Science program, a member of the Alumni Board and of the Paxton Firefighter’s Association.
Firefighter Koretski volunteers as a guardian for the Rhode Island Fire Chief’s Honor Flight Hub. This organization transports military veterans to Washington, D.C. He also serves as a Family Escort for the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation (NFFF) and participates in NFFF’s Fire Service Fellowship Program. He is the Co-Chair of the Rhode Island Local Assistance State Team (LAST), Secretary of the Rhode Island Southern Firefighters League, and an instructor with Rhode Island Fire Academy programs.
Enmanuel “Manny” Familia
Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel “Manny” Familia was only 38 years old when he lost his life while heroically trying to save a young boy from drowning in Green Hill Pond in 2021. Officer Familia was a five-year veteran of the Worcester Police Department (WPD) serving the northeast section of the city. He was a member of the Tactical Patrol Force, the Crisis Intervention Team, a Crisis Negotiator, and a Department Recruitment Officer. Officer Familia was training to become a member of the SWAT Team. He was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Anna Maria College at the time of his death.
Off duty, Officer Familia represented the WPD in various charities including the Tarantino 5K, WPD Basketball Team, Tarantino Softball Tournament, and the United Way and Boys and Girls Club Dodgeball Tournament. He was a devoted member of the Worcester community.
Located just outside of Worcester in Paxton, Massachusetts, Anna Maria College is a 75-year-old private, co-educational institution inspired by the ideals of the Sisters of Saint Anne. We prepare our students to become ethical leaders by combining a values-based, service focused education with strong functional knowledge and the skills necessary to address the rapidly changing needs of their world. Anna Maria delivers undergraduate and graduate degrees along with certificate programs on campus and online. For more information, visit www.annamaria.edu.
