From Good Counsel with Love

from GOOD COUNSELwith

Kelly and Michael Hass ’05 met in their freshmen religion class at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, taught by Kathryn Heetderks. “In April of our sophomore year, we went out on our first date to the movies and Starbucks in Olney, and the rest was history.”

They loved attending school dances, sporting events and pep rallies together.

“Our high school relationship was the beginning of a beautiful life together, and so much happiness! It set the foundation for our relationship, which grew and matured throughout college and early adulthood. We felt very lucky to have found one another and have been surrounded by great friends at Good Counsel.”

Kelly and Michael Hass ’05 and family Kevin and Lauren Eckert ’06 with their daughters

Today, the couple has three daughters, Hannah, 6, Jojo, 4, and Emma, 1. They are also expecting another little girl in September.

“We enjoy being outdoors as much as possible with our kids, especially soaking up the sun at the beach and the pool in the summertime.”

Lauren and Kevin Eckert ’06 met at the beginning of their junior year of high school. “A mutual friend of ours introduced us and we immediately became friends.” The two students started dating later that year shortly after their senior retreat.

“We were both fall sport athletes, so we enjoyed seeing each other after practices.” One of the couple’s favorite high school memories is a snowball fight started by a classmate outside of their English class junior year. The couple also went to senior prom together.

The Eckerts now are married with two daughters—Kiley, 3, and Sophia, 1.5. “We also have an 8-year-old golden retriever, Dempsey. This summer, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary.”

“Good Counsel played an important part in our lives by bringing us together and we look back fondly on our time there, the many friends we made and the wonderful teachers and coaches who had a major impact on our lives.”

James Doherty ’74 met his wife, Margaret, in Barry Trick's AP English class in the fall of 1973, when she was part of a consortium that allowed students from all-girls schools to attend classes their schools did not offer. She attended Ursuline Academy in Bethesda.

“She was one of only two girls who attended Good Counsel that year. We met in class and dated during the summer following graduation in spring 1974,” Doherty says. However, the two attended separate, farflung colleges, and Margaret joined the Peace Corps after graduating and ended up in Cameroon in West Central Africa.

“After a seven-year hiatus, we started seeing each other again when she returned. We eventually got married in October 1988 and have a child together, Alice Leonard Doherty, who is currently studying Religion and Theater Arts at the University of Iowa,” he says.

“We both attended the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., but at different times. I graduated in 1985 and she graduated in 1990.”

Katie and Nick Fullenkamp ’98 didn’t meet until the fall of their senior year at GC. “We were both in Mrs. Nichols’ AP Chemistry class and sat next to one another. Mrs. Nichols soon caught on that we had some ‘chemistry’ and would call us out in front of the class as the ‘lovebirds.’ We began dating mid-September.”

Katie and Nick were both asked to be Junior Retreat leaders that year. “The

Nick and Katie Fullenkamp ’98 at prom

preparation for that brought us closer, and I asked Nick to the Sadie Hawkins dance,” Katie says. “We continued to date throughout our senior year, finishing with Prom and many wonderful memories together.”

Senior Prom is one of the couple’s favorite memories. “It culminated our year of meeting and dating and was such a fun night celebrating our last year with our friends. We also knew we were both headed to James Madison University in the fall, so it was a special time together.”

The family enjoys attending GC’s camps, alumni activities and football, soccer and lacrosse games. “It is very special being able to take our children to the place where we met and fell in love.”

Melissa ’01 and Charles Boyle ’00 are the Fullenkamps’ in-laws. (Melissa and Nick are brother and sister.) They met in the freshman hallway in September of 1997 and started dating in February of 1998. “I was a freshman and Charles was a sophomore,” Melissa says.

Their favorite memories are of cheering each other on in our sports and tearing up the dance floor at dances and prom.

“Charles always said he first fell in love with me after seeing me block an opposing player’s shot during one of my JV basketball games freshman year, and I remember him cheering so loudly when I did it,” Melissa says. These days, they are busy with their four children, Charles, 10, Shannon, 8, Delaney, 5, and Brendan, 4.

The couple says they often tell the story of their “amazing experience” at GC. “We have so many special memories and friends from our time there. We are thankful for our time at GC and how it shaped our lives.”

Jen and Joey Cabigas ’82 met while working at Good Counsel. Both are faculty members - Jen teaches religion and Joey teaches science.

“Jen and I met at the Wheaton campus when I was directing Camp GC and she was hired as an administrator in July of 2000,” says Joey, who started working at the camp as a counselor when he was a sophomore in high school. He has been the camp director for more than 20 years.

“On one of the theme days of camp, I was wearing a long dress and was on roller blades when I was first introduced to Jen. We sort of hit it off from there, but I frequently greeted Jen from the 2nd floor as she ate lunch in the senior courtyard during camp, as I was too shy to say anything closer.”

“We were engaged by the spring of 2001 to the surprise of our colleagues, who had no idea that Jen and I were dating!” The two were married on August 4, 2001, which is also Joey’s birthday.

“Our daughter, Soledad, has just completed her freshman year at GC, and she has looked forward to being a Falcon since she was little!” Between the two of them, Jen and Joey have taught more than 5,000 students at GC. They believe that the relationships teachers build with their students are a crucial part of education.

Jen and Joey Cabigas ’82 The wedding of Elizabeth and Justin Cassidy ’14

Elizabeth and Justin Cassidy ’14 met during their sophomore year of high school in Gary Fookes’ self-defense karate class.

“We were put together as sparring partners. We started to joke around together and became quick friends.” The couple started dating in February 2012.

“Something we will always remember about meeting each other is that the day before we met in 2011 was the day that the DMV area experienced the earthquake and the school had sent everyone outside. I think that was a sign that something really big was going to happen for us that year, but we didn’t know that it would be meeting our future spouse.”

In 2013, the two went on the annual band trip to Nashville. “It helped foster a love for travel and adventure that we have carried with us to this day.” Since then, the couple has traveled together to Mexico, Ireland, Belgium, France and have future plans to visit Nicaragua, Japan, Iceland and more.

In October 2021, the couple got married. Several GC alumni were in their wedding party, including Connor Reich, Laura Lucas, Michelle Kolberg and Paige Padmore, all Class of 2014.