
5 minute read
Former Falcon Athletes
from The Counselor | 2021
by olgchs
SAYING GOODBYE TO GREATS
Legacy Faculty Recall Impactful Careers
▲ Rich Slocum conducts the 2019 Christmas Concert. Dr. Richard Slocum

Dr. Richard Slocum, longtime fine arts chair, music teacher and orchestra conductor at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, retired last spring after 40 years.
Over the years, Slocum inspired scores of students to appreciate and make music. He awed audiences through his orchestral direction during school musicals, such as a 2017 production of “Titanic,” which prompted Patrick McMahon, a reviewer for DC Metro Theater Arts, to write, “Even more impressive was the orchestra pit. Made up of 16 musicians, the lush orchestrations really shined through, thanks to the musical direction of Dr. Richard Slocum.” Other popular productions he contributed to at Good Counsel include “Les Misérables” and “Into the Woods.”
A highlight in GC’s history was the opening of the Ellen C. Mervin Theatre, a part of the school's Performing Arts Center, in 2019. Slocum directed orchestra students in the facility’s first show, a production of “Damn Yankees,” which received glowing reviews.
“Whether the jazz ensemble or the orchestra, everyone loves watching Rich conduct,” says GC President Paul Barker. “He always conveys love of the music, encouragement of the players and, of course, a great sense of humor and showmanship.”
In 2014, Tim Welsh ’84 named the Dr. Richard Slocum Music Scholarship in honor of his former teacher. “Mr. Slocum helped me understand that music is a universal language that brings people together,” Welsh says. “Because I learned this from him, I have used music to help unite my family and my community.”
In 2016 the school’s orchestra pit was named for Slocum and his wife, Rosemary, for their many years of service to GC’s music and performing arts programs.
Dick Burns also retired in 2021 after teaching social studies and coaching various teams at GC for over 40 years.
“It was a lifestyle. I don’t think I ever viewed it as only a job,” Burns says. “Over the years, I think I’ve gained as much as I’ve given.”
Early in his career, Burns had the opportunity to teach college or work for the U.S. State Department, but he chose to teach at GC instead. He says he knows he made the right choice.
When Burns first started teaching in the late 1960’s, he reflected his generation’s idealism and sometimes preached social justice to his students. Over time, his style evolved and he learned to listen to his students and to help them consider other perspectives. “I tried to draw from my students and improve the gifts they were born with to make them better students and hopefully better people, to challenge them to think critically and to excel academically,” he says.
Aside from teaching, Burns coached track and boys slow pitch softball at various time periods, in addition to working with the retreat program, running the school newspaper and directing summer school.
Living in harmony was always a very important facet of life at GC, Burns says. Over the years, the school has benefited from a more diverse student body. “We tried very hard and I think we were successful in forming a true community,” he says.
Dick Burns has two scholarships in his honor. Tim Welsh ’84 established the Richard Burns Social Studies Scholarship awarded annually to provide financial assistance to a rising senior with excellent achievement in social studies. And in 2019 the Richard Burns Endowed Scholarship was created to provide financial assistance to a rising senior who excels in athletics, service or extracurricular activities.
Today, Burns has more than 1,500 connections on Facebook that came from GC. He keeps in touch with many of his former students. “I had lunch recently with an alumnus, Bill Wood ’86, who gave the most outstanding graduation speech I ever heard,” he says.
Burns is happy when he reflects back on his career. “I’ve learned there’s not one way of doing things for all people. The ability to be flexible and adaptable to the different needs people have is important,” Burns says.
“I know my students have made me better, and I hope I have made them better, too.”
Dr. Eleanor Donaghue retired from her role as director of personal counseling last spring after 32 years. She owns a small private practice and plans to supervise licensed counselors and possibly teach at the university level.
Originally from the Philadelphia area, Donaghue taught for a number of years before joining the GC counseling staff in 1989.
Donaghue worked to earn her doctorate from Catholic University while working at GC.
She served as chairperson of her department for 16 years. Her team dealt with a broad spectrum of mental health issues including emotional, social, family and academic. This can range from eating disorders to screen addiction. “When you see a kid’s grades drop, there’s something going on,” she says.
“If there was a crisis, I would intervene,” Donaghue says. This process included speaking with a student’s parents, therapist if there was one, teachers if necessary and the school principal.
“We try to figure out, what do we need here to help this child out in this situation?” Donaghue and the counseling staff provided resources for parents and also for GC faculty, such as a presentation on mindfulness offered in the fall of 2020.
She recalls dealing with emotionally wrenching current events that affected the school and students over the years, such as the rise of school shootings, 9/11 and the DC sniper attacks. “I remember an intern I had during 9/11 said, ‘I was going to ask you how to handle a crisis; now I know,’” Donaghue recalls.
She has loved working with the families and teachers at GC and enjoys hearing from former students. “A lot of kids will come back and say I helped them,” Donaghue says. “They’re the ones who make what you do worthwhile.”

Dick Burns Dr. Eleanor Donaghue

To celebrate the legacies of Dick and Rich, gifts to their respective endowed scholarships can be made at www.olgchs.org/scholarships.