2024 Distinguished Graduate Award

Congratulations Matt Korzeniecki!

DATE: 2/02/24

We are honored to announce the 2024 St. Philomena School Distinguished Graduate is Matthew Korzeniecki. Matt graduated from St. Philomena School in 2001. He attended St. Philomena School from Kindergarten through 8th Grade. During this time, he received the perfect attendance award for having never missed a day of school the entire time! He attended Mt. Rainier High School. He went to Central Washington University and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Justice with a minor in Psychology and to Washington State University where he received a Master’s degree in strategic communications.

Matt has been a member of the Washington State Patrol for 12 years and is currently a Trooper assigned to District 2 in South Seattle. He has been a member of the Rapid Deployment Force, a team that consisted of troopers whose job it was to be able to rapidly respond to incidents ranging from natural disasters to crowd control.

For the last year and a half he has been on the Washington State Patrol Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team as a Crisis Negotiator and has received advanced training in Firearms, Driving, and De-escalation tactics. Through his job he has provided security for the Governor, the Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme court, and many professional athletes and coaches.

Matt’s family is heavily entrenched at St. Philomena School. His three brothers attended the school. His wife, Katy is a teacher at St. Philomena School and his children Bailey and Colton attend the school, as does his niece and nephew, Easton and Kennedy. His mom, Chris, has worked at the school for 20 years and is currently the school’s Administrative Assistant.

His favorite teacher was Mrs. Teri O’Connor. Matt states that “. Mrs. O’Conner is a teacher that always has her students’ best interests at the forefront of everything she does. Her class is always entertaining, and she makes every student feel that they are important and valued. She made it okay to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes to become not only a better student but a better person.” Matt also stated that his “Catholic Education provided the road map to get to his learning destination.”

Matt is involved at St. Philomena School. He has been a recess parent, field trip chaperone, and a CYO coach. His favorite thing that he has been able to do is be a part of the CYO Board, where he has spent the last 7 years as the Gym Coordinator.

Matt acknowledged that he is extremely grateful to be recognized as the 2024 Distinguished Graduate stating, “St. Philomena has always been there for me, and I have always been able to “come home.” Congratulations Matt, we are so proud to recognize you for all that you have accomplished and for your love of Catholic education and St. Philomena School!

We will honor Matt after our Mass this Friday, Feb. 2nd. Mass starts at 8:45 AM.