Hope Biddle ‘19:
Episcopal Academy students take great pride and comfort in the quality and abundance of food choices provided in the cafeteria. This would not be possible without the dining staff. John and Lisa Familetti are the forefront of the dining services in Episcopal’s cafeteria, and without their hard work, both with the students and behind the scenes, the cafeteria would be an entirely different atmosphere.
The Familettis’ hard and appreciated work has had a huge effect on Episcopal. Cerena Robertson ‘19 said, “The Familettis have provided lunch continuously for over 1,000 students and commit one hundred percent.” From supplying lunch every school day to helping cook for the lunches on special days of the school year, such as the last day of school, the Familettis have worked a tremendous amount in order to support the students, faculty, and administration.
John Familetti has worked in Episcopal’s community for 38 years while his wife, Lisa Familetti, has worked part time since 1995 and committed to working full time in 2006 as Episcopal’s Catering Manager. Lisa Familetti described Episcopal as their “home since 1980” as they have sent all six of their children to both the Merion and Newtown Square campuses. Not only have the Familettis been an integral part of the Episcopal community, but Lisa Familetti explained that Episcopal has had a tremendous influence on their family. Her daughter Elyse Familetti ‘06 “wrote her college essay about growing up with her parents leading the dining staff.” Elyse described in her college essay how at EA she “would visit her father’s work. She would look out over the crowd of ‘big’ students and think how lucky they were and how she couldn’t wait to come there as a student.” Lisa further explained that “The faculty and staff are like a second family to us” and have supported the Familettis throughout their time here at Episcopal.
While discussing the key to John and Lisa’s irreplaceable impact at EA, Dr. T.J. Locke siad that a “part of their success in the things that they do are the things that do go unnoticed. Feeding around 1260 kids plus around 350 faculty and staff every single day of every season is truly remarkable.” He stated that even with the difficult schedules, they “just never complain and make it work and I think that’s the kind of head-down do-your-job attitude that everyone respects about them.” When asked about what Episcopal plans to do in honor of the Familettis, he disclosed that at the end of the 2017 – 2018 school year all of the faculty and staff gather to celebrate the members that leave the Episcopal community, including the Familettis. Locke said that “we’ll find other ways to celebrate their work” in order to appreciate the dedication the Familettis have shown during their time at Episcopal.
Throughout their time at Episcopal, the Familettis have formed lasting relationships with fellow faculty and the students. Elom Vedomey ‘19 said that “they’ve been a friendly face I’ve seen daily since I began here. It’ll take some time getting used to not having that. I really can’t imagine what it’ll be like without their welcoming presence and unique generosity.” Lisa Familetti ended by saying she “will miss [Episcopal] so very much,” and the students and faculty will miss them and all they have done for Episcopal.