The Counselor | 2020

COUNSELOR The

OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL A Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School : OLGCHS.org : 2020

Alumni Join the Fight Against

COVID-19

Super Bowl Glory for Kendall Fuller ’13 and Dorian O’Daniel ’13

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The Conductor’s Finale: Dennis Essig Retires

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Conversation with Hilary Stauffer ’95 UN Attorney in Iraq

McCormack Brothers Join Forces To Make GC Stronger

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Behind the Masks: Alumni in the Fight Against COVID-19

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PRESIDENT

DEAR FRIENDS Social distancing, isolation and scarcity have encouraged us to use the lens of simplicity to reassess what is important.

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There can be few people alive who would say that daily life since March 2020 reminds them of some other time, some prior experience. In 40 years in education and 19 years as a head of school, I have not seen the like.

With their teaching model turned upside down over the course of a long weekend, the Good Counsel faculty got the job done for students via distance learning for the final two and a half months of school.

Beyond the individual academic subjects, our teachers, advisors and counselors taught powerful lessons about how to stay calm, how to persevere, how to show care and concern. I could not be prouder of my colleagues. Like our beloved Spanish Teacher Dennis Essig (page 4) in his earlier days in Wheaton, they are rock stars.

Never have our core values, handed down from the Xaverian Brothers, been more crucial to our ability to steer a steady course. The aggressive arrival of the novel coronavirus taught us about Humility and reminded us that the belief that we are in complete control is folly.

Social distancing, isolation and scarcity have encouraged us to use the lens of Simplicity to reassess what is important.

The pain of suffering, loss of loved ones and abrupt impact on jobs and family finances have called forth Compassion.

class — were going to be the first to have traditional graduation canceled, faculty, staff, parents and alumni created a host of nontraditional ways to celebrate the Class of 2020.

As is so often the case, our community has shown what it means to be Falcon Strong. We prepared and delivered meals to food-insecure families. We provided hot spots to families without WiFi. The field hockey and volleyball teams and coaches were among the first in the region to make and distribute masks. Our benefactors contributed $205,000 in a single day to kickstart the Keep Falcons Falcons emergency financial aid fund. Alumni have been in the vanguard of the medical response to COVID-19 (page 12). And, most poignantly, when it became clear that our seniors — Good Counsel’s 60th graduating

I hope you will enjoy this edition of The Counselor. In unsettling times, may you see something familiar in the stories of teachers, students and alumni and may you feel a powerful connection to the mission of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School: We inspire our students to excel, serve and love.

We yearn for a return to normal. We all miss our students. And they miss school. We want to be together for the energy, excitement and sense of community found in events like Friday Night Lights. Maybe even to see a new Falcon on a path to the Super Bowl, like Kendall and Dorian (page 8).

Warmest regards,

Paul G. Barker, Ed.D. President

CONTENTS

A publication of OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL A Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School 17301 Old Vic Boulevard, Olney, MD 20832 240.283.3200 | olgchs.org PRESIDENT Paul G. Barker, Ed.D. PRINCIPAL Tom Campbell ’93 2020-2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR | Philip J. Mantua ’76 VICE CHAIR | Dr. Luther Ampey, III PRESIDENT | Paul G. Barker, Ed.D. Ralph Boyd, Jr. Patrick Caulfield Christina Cocozzella Br. Stephen Comeau, CFX Victor Del Pino ’94 Dr. Nancy DeNicola Thomas Fay Eileen Haase, Ph.D. Edward Hardiman, Ph.D. Dr. David Higgins ’75 Ronald Hill ’72 Margaret Kim Rev. Robert Lawton, S.J., Ph.D., ’65 Roger Mason, Jr. ’99 Rebecca Neff Robert Ramin Stephen Richter ’75 William Riley, Jr. ’68 Maggie Lynch Selwood ’01 Michelle Rubie-Smith Dr. Lori Scialabba, JD Cynthia Van Horn EDITOR Jane Bornhorst GRAPHIC DESIGN Lori Fields ADVANCEMENT OFFICE: Chief Advancement Officer Julie Potter Director of Alumni Relations G.J. Kissal ’91 Director of Corporate, Foundation and Donor Relations Savannah Renehan Director of Annual Giving Jessica Sardella Advancement Manager Debbie McKinney Campaign and Events Manager Catie Brown ’13 President’s Assistant Jeanette McCarthy MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE: Chief Marketing Officer Cheryl Plainte Digital Design and Web Manager Erica Tituana Digital Content and Social Media Coordinator Paul Kennedy Submit comments, contributions and address updates to jmccarthy@olgchs.org.

FEATURES 4 The Conductor’s Finale

Dennis Essig retires after 42 years at Good Counsel

8 Super Bowl Glory for

Two Recent Falcons

NFL players Kendall Fuller ’13 and Dorian O’Daniel ’13 win with the Chiefs

10 Conversation with

Hilary Stauffer ’95

Human rights attorney describes her efforts in Iraq

ADVANCEMENT 20 Bridging the Past and Future

McCormack Brothers give to help build Good Counsel’s endowment

22 Bringing Light After Tragedy

New scholarship honors Stan Spottswood ’80 and the late Arnold Ramsammy

32 Spotlight: New Faces of GC

ALUMNI 26 Community Partners

12 Behind the Masks:

Alumni in the Fight

Against COVID-19

28 Steve Dean Golf Classic and

Saint Francis Xavier Dinner

SPECIAL

30 Reunion

19 By the Numbers

Good Counsel’s bragging rights

24 A Desire to Excel,

Serve and Love

29 Grand Celebration 33 Class Notes 33 In Memoriam

Basketball student manager Ryan Hoffman ’20 wins Brother Mark Award

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FEATURE

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THE CONDUCTOR’S FINALE

By Tonia Essig

“I want my students to know that I remember them long after they leave. I may not remember all of their names, but each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart.”

When students eventually return to Our Lady of Good Counsel, it will feel like a very different place, not only because of changes caused by the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, but also because Dennis Essig will not be welcoming students into his classroom and into the Good Counsel Community for the first time in 42 years.

Since 1978, when Jimmy Carter was President, when smallpox was eradicated from the planet and “Grease” was the word, Dennis welcomed students to a new school year with music, a warm heart and a passion for teaching and learning. He welcomed them to what he knew would be their second home, and to a community that would be theirs not only for a four-year journey but for a lifetime.

With the close of the 2019-2020 school year, Dennis retired as one of the longest-serving faculty members in the school’s history. When he began at Good Counsel, I am not sure that either of us knew that – as Dennis says to his students – GC would soon become our second home. Our son, Andrew ’94, was a newborn when Dennis began his GC journey. He was soon followed by Nick ’98 and Dan ’00. When reflecting with our sons about their Dad’s career and retirement, they say simply, “Just as we were born to be his sons, Dennis Essig was born to teach at Good Counsel.”

Dennis’s passion for fairness and professional growth resulted in his being one of the founding members of the faculty/staff committee. Also, for more than 25 years, we chaperoned band and chorus trips, crisscrossing the country with students as they brought their award-winning talents to national competitions.

And so he did! Over the years, he has taught Spanish, French, Latin and Religion. He chaired the World Languages Department three separate times. Dennis was also resolute about being involved in all aspects of the GC community. Over his years at GC, he has directed the Good Counsel Theatre Company for eight seasons and moderated the guitar club, student council and yearbook. At the Wheaton campus, he ran the Good Counsel Coffee House for five years.

Part of Dennis’s legacy is his profound influence on colleagues. His friend Richard Slocum says, “One of the first people I met when I started teaching at Good Counsel in 1981 was Dennis Essig. He welcomed me in a way that made me feel at home and important from the very first day. I know this is how he treats everyone, especially his students. Dennis is a gentle man, a generous man, a kind man and a truly loving man who lives his faith every minute of every day.”

During his career, Dennis has been recognized several times for his contributions; he is a two-time recipient of the XBSS Teacher of the Year Award and a winner of the Theodore James Ryken Award, the highest honor offered in Xaverian Schools.

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FEATURE

“If there is a more perfect example of the Xaverian Values that I see every day as I walk through the halls of Good Counsel, I have yet to see it,” Slocum adds.

“Señor Essig is one of the great Men of GC on whose shoulders our school rests. GC may find someone to take his place in the classroom, but no one will ever match his role in making Our Lady of Good Counsel High School the home it is for educating young Catholic men and women. I always have been and always will be proud to call him my friend.”

Just like the students and families of the Class of 2020, Dennis envisioned a very different close to his time at Good Counsel.

He imagined a time where there was one more awards ceremony, one prom, one more formal graduation mass with students marching across the altar at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Those traditions of transition were not to be. But transition we do nonetheless.

During this time of change, Dennis reflects on his cherished memories at Good Counsel, specifically the unique way in which his love of music brought him closer to students.

He says, “Anyone who knows me knows what an important

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role music has in my life.

I am a singer, musician and songwriter. I’ve been influenced by lyrics and melodies my entire life.” Dennis loved to play music for his students. They might enter the classroom on any given day to the sounds of Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Feliciano or Ruben Blades, and walk out to the tunes of James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Billy Joel or the Beatles.

“I played classical music as well, hoping to create young Renaissance men and women,” Dennis says. “Over the years, students have told me that conducting Rossini’s ‘William Tell Overture’ is a favorite classroom memory.”

Many students, present and past, have shared what it meant to have Dennis Essig as a teacher. Maureen Andary ’01, says, “Growing up, I often felt awkward and out of place.

That feeling completely flew out the window whenever Mr. Essig entered the room. He was always so kind, lighthearted and so present. He truly listened and saw each of us kids for who we were and he took it further – he dreamed of who we might become when he cast us in a play.”

“Mr. Essig believed in us even when we didn’t believe in ourselves and saw things in us we didn’t know we had,” Andary adds. “He supported us, pushed us and lavished our shows with attention and care,” she says. “I will never forget being in Mr. Essig’s marvelous musicals.”

FEATURE

Andary and others loved seeing Dennis perform, such as his joyful renditions of Guantanamera and myriad shows put on with his band Sheepshead Bay. “It meant something that Mr. Essig put himself out there,” she says. “He’s one of the only teachers I ever saw perform. It took guts and it was super cool.”

When asked about the next leg of his life’s journey, Dennis shares, “Retirement is bittersweet. I look forward to finally finishing a children’s book I have been working on for seven years. ‘Andrew Clease and Theo Lyon at the Beach’ is based on Aesop’s Fable and will be dedicated to the eight characters in the book, my grandchildren.”

Dennis estimates he has taught well over 5,000 students. “I want my students to know that I remember them long after they leave.

I may not remember all of their names, but each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart.” He adds, “The students who stand out strongest in my mind seem to have a common, recognizable trend. As early as their freshman year, I saw in them genuine Christian men and women who were going to make a difference not only at GC but in the world.”

Dennis plans to substitute at Good Counsel occasionally, because he can’t imagine tearing himself away completely. He also plans to volunteer in the greater community. “In these uncertain times, what I know is certain is that I will miss working with the most dedicated faculty and staff in education – teachers who are intelligent, compassionate, enthusiastic educators, and who are themselves life-long learners; staff that treats each child as their own and serve as the backbone of Good Counsel; and my students – I will miss all of them. They have made me laugh and cry and wonder. They have made me proud to be a part of this community.”

Forty-two years is almost a lifetime, and Dennis’s cup of memories is full. He remembers colleague and friend Walter Tombini being embraced by Pope Francis during his visit to Washington in 2015. “It still makes me tear up!” Dennis says. He also reflects upon the proud moment when he presented Brother Greg Turlik with an award.

“I taught with Brother Greg and was inspired by his unending commitment to service.

Although he never knew it, he was not only an inspiration but a spiritual advisor to me.”

Of all his memories, Dennis says the most precious are “presenting each of my three sons with his Good Counsel diploma.”

The Dennis Essig Endowed Scholarship

Forty-four years ago, Dennis and I were married. Together, we did not simply go through life, we lived it, we grew from it and experienced it, all the while with Good Counsel as an integral part of our family.

As Dennis prepares to embark on this next phase of his journey, I know that we will continue to travel it together. And, similar to what Dennis has always told his students, the Good Counsel community has been his community not only for a 42-year journey, but will be for a lifetime.

42 YEARS One of the longest serving faculty members in the school’s history

¡Hola!

TEACHING Taught Spanish, French, Latin and religion

5,000 STUDENTS Taught more than 5,000 students over his 42 years at Good Counsel

Along with his colleagues, past and present students, family and friends now join in celebrating Dennis’s work as an educator and look forward to continuing that recognition with The Dennis Essig Endowed Scholarship, dedicated to supporting students who demonstrate Dennis’ unwavering commitment to the Good Counsel community.

To contribute, visit www.olgchs.org/essig.

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FEATURE

Super Bowl

GLORY

For Two Recent

FALCONS

By Chris McManes

Kendall Fuller ’13 and Dorian O’Daniel ’13 were two of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School’s star football players during the program’s most successful era. In February, they teamed up again. This time, they helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl.

“We first started having those dreams at Good Counsel,” Fuller said. “To be in the situation of having our dreams come true of winning at the highest level, we definitely soaked it all in.”

Bob Milloy, who coached the Falcons for 16 years (2001-16), said it was “indescribable” seeing Fuller and O’Daniel hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy, particularly with them being two of his favorite people.

“In addition to being extraordinary athletes, they’re both really nice, really sweet kids,” Milloy said.

“Everybody liked them – coaches, teachers, administrators, students.”

During their senior season (2012), O’Daniel and Fuller played key roles in Good Counsel’s fourth-straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship.

Both were U.S. Army All-Americans.

Following their 2013 graduation, Fuller followed his three brothers to Virginia Tech. O’Daniel helped Clemson win the 2016 National Championship. He is one of a handful of players to capture a top football prize in high school, college and the pros.

Fuller played sparingly on the Falcons’ 2009 varsity team. O’Daniel was on JV. Good Counsel had been in the WCAC championship game five years in a row, losing each time to DeMatha. The first four defeats, two in overtime, came by a total of 13 points.

The Falcons’ 2009 squad also featured three other players who would play in the NFL: Lou Young, Blake Countess and Stefon Diggs. Young was a member of the Carolina Panthers for Super Bowl 50. Countess was with the Los

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Angeles Rams when they advanced to Super Bowl LIII. Diggs starred for the Minnesota Vikings, where he became known for The Minneapolis Miracle in a divisional playoff game against the Saints, and now plays for the Buffalo Bills.

When Young got hurt in the ’09 title game, Good Counsel was clinging to a 14-7 lead and down two defensive backs. Milloy had no choice but to put a ninth-grader into the game.

“We put Kendall in and [DeMatha] went right at him,” Milloy said.

“Kendall held his own, and we ended up holding on to win the game.”

Fast forward 10 years to Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. The San Francisco 49ers held a 20-10 lead over Kansas City with less than seven minutes left. The Chiefs came alive and scored the next three touchdowns, the last with 1:20 to go.

San Francisco still had enough time to score, recover an onside kick and score again. Fuller made sure it didn’t happen by intercepting Jimmy Garoppolo’s pass with a leaping grab. A short while later, Andy Reid was celebrating his first NFL championship as a head coach.

“That was probably the best part, seeing him get that Gatorade bath and hold up the trophy,” said Fuller, who kept the ball as a souvenir.

“That was a big moment, a happy moment for all of us.”

Milloy, whose 405 victories makes him the winningest coach in Maryland high school football history, said he takes little credit for the success his former stars enjoyed on Super Bowl Sunday. Fuller, however, is quick to praise him.

PRESIDENT

“Looking back, being high school athletes, he kind of treated us like pros,” he said.

“He wanted us to do the little things it takes to be a pro: being on time, coming in prepared. He gave us responsibilities that we had to fulfill every day.

would think, ‘this is crazy that we’re here together.’”

“He had so much knowledge of football while at the same time, he always wanted to learn. What he asked of us and the positions he put us in to succeed at Good Counsel was definitely second to none.”

After two seasons in Kansas City, Fuller signed a free agent contract to return to Washington. He has put 2019 behind him.

Road to the Chiefs O’Daniel was a starting linebacker his final two years at Clemson. As a senior in 2017, he had five sacks and returned two interceptions for touchdowns. He was named second-team All-American.

Kansas City chose him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Fuller started at cornerback his first two years (2013-14) at Virginia Tech. As a sophomore, he attained All-American status. His brothers Vincent, Corey and Kyle have also played in the NFL. Kendall only appeared in three games as a junior before undergoing season-ending knee surgery.

Washington selected Fuller in the third round of the 2016 draft. Following two seasons in Washington, he was traded to the Chiefs. He enjoyed teaming with O’Daniel again.

“It was definitely fun,” he said.

“There would be moments in the locker room where we

They were also paired in a bonding game to see how much they knew about one another. “It was too easy,” Fuller said, “just being around each other since high school.”

“That’s just a part of life and a part of the league,” he said.

“You can have success one year, and if you don’t go out and put in the work in the offseason, there’s no guarantee it’s going to happen again.

“Every year has its challenges.

You’ve just got to make sure you’re prepared.”

Gridiron Dominance The Falcons repeated as WCAC champions in Fuller and O’Daniel’s sophomore years by overwhelming DeMatha, 42-3.

The 2011 squad punctuated a 12-0 season with a 42-0 dismantling of Gonzaga. Five players (Diggs, Fuller, O’Daniel and offensive linemen Ryan Watson and Mike Madaras) were named first-team All-Met. Diggs, a two-way star, was The Washington Post’s Defensive Player of the Year.

In 2012, O’Daniel helped to fill Diggs’ departure by rushing for 1,307 yards and 18 TDs. An AllMet linebacker his junior year, he was similarly recognized at running back as a senior.

(Left to right) Kendall Fuller, Andre Levrone, Dorian O’Daniel

Fuller caught 44 passes for 695 yards and seven scores and was named Offensive Player of the Year. His three TD catches in the championship game helped Good Counsel drop DeMatha, 26-14.

“I worked with Dorian on that, but I’m going to give him most of the credit,” said Fuller, who plans to participate in several events in the Washington, D.C., area. “We wanted to show the kids that we were in their shoes before and that our mindset and work ethic helped us get to the next level.”

O’Daniel told the Post playing his final high school game was “bittersweet.”

“I can honestly say I left it all on the field for my senior year,” he said. “They say I’m going to miss it at the next level. But truthfully, I already miss it.”

During Fuller and O’Daniel’s four seasons, the Falcons were 44-4 (.917 winning percentage). They finished No. 1 in the Washington, D.C., area each year. USA Today ranked them No. 4 (2011) and No. 10 (2012) nationally.

Serving the Community O’Daniel organized a pro day camp in June 2019 at Good Counsel to benefit area youth.

Several Falcon NFL alumni participated.

Fuller said his time in Olney taught him the value of hard work, community service and keeping an eye on life’s next step.

“When I got to Good Counsel, I met so many people who were trying to do something with their life,” he said. “It’s a culture that’s already set. They have a foundation of who people are and what they want to do after high school. Once you get in there and see it, you want to be right in line and do the same thing.

“That was big for me.”

Chris McManes (mick-maynz) studied feature writing at the University of North Carolina.

He has won three national writing awards.

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FEATURE

A CONVERSATION WITH…

HILARY STAUFFER ’95

Location:

Baghdad, Iraq “Green Zone”

International Human Rights Attorney

worthiness of the recipient. So I asked to get a field posting.

When you ask, they give you the worst options. I chose Baghdad as the safest of three; the other two were Yemen and Syria.

PB: What do you wish more people understood about Iraq and the Middle East?

By Dr. Paul Barker

I spoke with Hilary Stauffer about her work for the United Nations in Baghdad, Iraq, life in the Middle East and how Good Counsel inspired her journey. She is the Head of Reporting, Policy and Strategy for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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PB: How did you come to be in Baghdad?

HS: I always wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t have any interest in ever being a big corporate lawyer. I had been working for the UN in New York. It was endless meetings with the macro nonsense of a big bureaucracy. My interest is in humanitarian affairs, aiding people on the ground – the homeless; the wounded; the sick. I want to do that without any moral judgment about the

HS: Iraq is a wonderful country.

Obviously, parts of it are very dangerous. I have lived all over the world and I find the Iraqi people very resilient. They have gallows humor, not surprising since the country has been at war for 40 years. They don’t take themselves too seriously because everything else is so serious. They have zero time for First World problems. The Iraqis are incredibly generous, almost uncomfortably so. If you say, “I like your sweater,” they will probably bring you one the next day. Basically, you can’t ever be inauthentic. We Americans are much more individualistic.

Here, when it’s someone’s birthday, you can’t ignore it; everybody has to celebrate.

FEATURE

PB: What exactly do you do?

HS: At OCHA, my focus is developing strategies to serve the needs of Iraq’s millions of internally displaced persons that still remain after the conflict with ISIS. That means I work with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdish Regional Government, UN Agencies and other nongovernmental organizations. We have an office in Dohuk, in the north where there are constant air strikes. I am involved in addressing the legality of Turkish bombing in Iraqi airspace and determining the UN’s obligations in the conflict.

PB: What’s the hardest thing about your job?

HS: Being far from friends and family for weeks at a time.

Here, the weekends don’t mean anything. I work six or seven days a week. When we travel, it’s in armed convoys and we have to deal with endless checkpoints.

It takes forever to get anywhere.

The suffering of the internally displaced persons is huge and it’s typically the case that there’s nothing we can do to help the women and children.

PB: How did your Good Counsel experience influence you?

HS: My biology teacher, Brian Nogay, encouraged me to be involved in weekend service projects, at food banks and the like. I also remember the positive examples of Dennis Essig and Dick Burns.

PB: What’s your message to the Good Counsel Class of 2020?

PB: What do you do for fun in Baghdad?

PB: What are you watching?

Reading? Listening to?

HS: There’s not a lot to do. We are limited to the Green Zone.

There’s the Al Rashid Hotel. It has a pool, but you wouldn’t want to get in. We walk endlessly around the compound, about a half-mile loop. Fortunately, we do have high speed internet and a regular cycle of R and R. My favorite places to get away to are London, the Greek Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong and Beirut.

HS: I love podcasts. I listen to “NPR Politics,” another on British politics, a soccer one called “Men in Blazers” and one that’s all about the Harry Potter books. On video, I liked “The Good Place” and “Tiger King.”

And I love mystery novels.

HS: What a heartbreaking ending for you. Just remember that scary situations do not last forever. You will find this to be true for the rest of your life.

Mine clearance near Ramadi, Anbar ▶

Protesters at Tahrir Square, ▼ Baghdad, October 2019

PB: Who inspired you to do this sort of work?

HS: The character Mark Darcy in the movie, Bridget Jones Diary.

I was inspired to find out what a human rights lawyer did. I learned that Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were human rights lawyers. My mom, too, inspired me. She believed the world was hurting. It became important to me to feel useful and connected.

My attitude was, “Go, volunteer.”

“My interest is in humanitarian affairs, aiding people on the ground – the homeless; the wounded; the sick.”

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information from the news and the internet. It created mass hysteria and patients were flooding the ER wanting to be tested,” Bitonti says. The government had put strict criteria for testing into place, and most people did not meet it. “Unless someone needed to be hospitalized, our treatment and instructions for preventing the spread were the same as the regular flu, but people were scared and panicking and it was often manifesting as anger.”

Emergency rooms are high stress environments where verbal and physical abuse of staff is common, she says. During the chaotic early stages of the pandemic, which happened during the already busy flu season, the environment became very stressful for nurses.

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Jessica Bitonti, R.N. “This virus is so unforgiving.”

The mask on Jessica Bitonti’s face is smothering. Ten hours into a nursing shift in the ER, she escapes outside for a quick breath of fresh air during a rare five-minute break. Two and a half hours to go.

Bitonti, who has known since she was a young girl that she wanted to be a nurse, has fought endlessly to save people since COVID-19 drastically altered the landscape of healthcare and life everywhere in 2020. Despite her 13 years of emergency room experience in several hospitals, she had never seen anything like this virus.

“When COVID-19 came around, most people were getting their

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“Having to tell people to assume that their symptoms are due to COVID-19 without confirming it or having them wait hours to see a doctor when they are concerned that they have it, then later telling people that there is a strict no visitor policy was very hard,” Bitonti says. “People were scared.

People were dying.” The ER started rotating triage nurses every four hours so they could cope.

Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown, where Bitonti works, is in Montgomery County, one of the hardest hit areas in Maryland. She says, comparing the hospital’s atmosphere in January to that in March, “it was like a different world.”

Now, nurses wear their N95 masks for their whole shifts.

“That is rough,” she says. Patients infected with the virus can’t have visitors. A lot of patients arrive in ambulances, but some walk in on their own.

“It’s crazy, sometimes they come in and are having just a little trouble breathing and are able to answer our questions, and then within 30 minutes, it’s a complete 180 and they’re being intubated and they’re going to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).” Intubation is a procedure that involves inserting a tube into a patient’s trachea through the mouth to provide ventilation.

how it’s being treated. “It’s super frustrating because we’re killing ourselves. At the beginning, everyone was super grateful, and now we sometimes feel like we have to defend ourselves,” she says. “I’m tired of isolating too.

But the more people who take responsibility for themselves and do these things to keep others safe, the better.”

“My biggest fear is having two patients come in who need to be intubated and we only have one ventilator left. It hasn’t happened yet, but we’ve had times where there was only one left or none left,” Bitonti says.

A mother of a nine year old and a seven year old, Bitonti takes special precautions when she gets home from work, a cleaning process that takes an hour or more. “My kids are in bed by the time I’m done.”

“And with all of the PPE [personal protective equipment] you’re wearing, you’re sweating.

There’s no cutting corners. You put everything on, you go in with a patient, and you don’t want to waste your PPE by leaving the room, which would mean taking everything off because it’s contaminated. So a lot of times someone is at the door or window running to get things you need, and so you don’t come back out for hours.”

Nurses are exhausted because there was already a nursing shortage, and the sudden massive influx of patients has made matters worse, Bitonti says.

Bitonti says she is not new to tragedy, but that the pandemic is like nothing she has ever been through before. “This virus is so unforgiving.”

A bright spot is her team in the ER. “We work really well together,” she says. “We’re all going through the same thing. That support has been huge because even though my friends and family have been super supportive, it’s difficult to really understand unless it’s your reality.”

Bitonti feels conflicted about media coverage of the virus and

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“I am worried about PTSD for healthcare workers,” she adds.

“Right now, we’re in fight mode so we don’t have time to process it. Sometimes I spend 20 minutes crying in my car before I go home.

I have a lot of friends who work in the ICU. They get gowned up and they’re in there for a 12.5-hour shift with no breaks, or maybe longer depending on the day.”

Bitonti is hopeful for a vaccine, and she is thankful for the people who are staying at home and wearing masks when they have to go out. “We can’t do this alone,” she says.

“Never in my entire life did I think I would be facing what I’m facing at work every day. But I am.”

I Zoom with You Rudy Cline-Thomas ’96 is a major investor in Zoom, the online teleconferencing service that suddenly became a household name and a crucial communication tool in the midst of the pandemic.

Cline-Thomas and his business partner, NBA Player Andre Iguodala, founded Mastery Inc., which finds technology and other investment opportunities for partners, including Fortune 500 companies and professional athletes - particularly in the NBA. ClineThomas worked as a sports agent after college but switched his focus to financial services, and began investing in tech in 2009. Mastery has invested in more than 60 companies.

In 2015, Cline-Thomas met Zoom CEO Eric Yuan at the 2015 Forbes Cloud 100 Conference. The two hit it off right away.

“He’s a remarkable guy, a great human being,” he says. A few months later, Cline-Thomas invested in Zoom. “No one knew what it would become,” he says.

“It has completely exploded more than any product we’ve seen in a very long time.” During the pandemic, the company offered its services for free to K-12 schools in many countries.

Daily Zoom users rose from 10 million in December 2019 to about 300 million by the end of April 2020. By June, Zoom was one of the highest-growth tech stocks on the market.

Making a difference is important to Cline-Thomas. In June, he hosted the Morgan Stanley Race and Inclusion Summit to help CEOs navigate those waters with their clients and employees. “Some are companies I’ve invested in. I’ve also advised the NBA Players Association because they want to leverage their visibility to make a change,” he says. “The overall effect of these conversations will remain to be seen.”

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Dr. Brian Tenney, ER Doctor want our families there when we’re sick. But it isn’t possible right now,” Tenney says. This makes the hospital experience much harder on patients.

Dr. Brian Tenney is unsettled by the lack of patients coming into the emergency room for maladies like heart attacks, injuries and appendicitis. He rotates between three Maryland hospital emergency rooms and has seen a major decrease in cases like these since the pandemic began.

“We’re seeing a lot of COVID-19 patients, but there is a paradoxical effect: No one else is coming into the ER,” Tenney says. “I’m not sure if it’s because they’re scared or if they’re not working, thereby staying safer at home.”

Whatever the reason, the hospitals have decreased staffing in areas that are less busy, and increased it in others.

Tenney is an emergency medicine physician who rotates between MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, White Oak Medical Center and Carroll Hospital Center in Carroll County, Md. Aside from most of the patients he sees being infected with COVID-19, there have been a lot of other changes, as well.

“Given the prevalence of the virus, we’re wearing protective equipment when seeing every single patient,” he says. “If we think they have COVID, we wear full protective gear. We were really scared of getting it at first, but now we have a system figured out and are less worried.”

The virus’s capacity for wreaking havoc on the respiratory system has made hospital intensive care departments extremely busy.

“Some of my colleagues and I have been helping out there,” Tenney says.

Another change is that patients can’t have visitors, due to safety precautions. “We all

“Lots of people aren’t surviving the virus, and a lot of people are dying alone. That’s not something we’ve seen before,” Tenney laments.

Some hospitals are allowing one or two family members to visit at the end of a patient’s life, but not all. “And, of course, a parent can come with a child. Some hospitals allow a partner to come in for baby deliveries, or a primary caregiver in certain situations, so there are some exceptions,” he says.

Luckily, the ventilator supply has not been a problem in Tenney’s experience. “We’ve used conservation strategies because we have gotten close to exceeding capacity,” he says.

“In this area, people isolated and did well,” Tenney says. The beginning of the wave of COVID-19 patients in the D.C. metro area came on strong quite suddenly, he says, but for the rest of the spring it remained steady and didn’t increase much.

“Certainly, there are a lot of sick and suffering people,” Tenney says. “Health care workers could also use your prayers.

They are being stretched as never before.

Everybody should do their best to stay safe.”

As people are isolating, Tenney recommends that the public stick to reputable sources for information about the virus. “But know that even they get things wrong from time to time,” he cautions.

Time will tell what effect various strategies for reopening will have. “The states are taking different approaches; some may have opened too early or some may be staying closed too long,” he says. “There are a lot of unknowns.”

15

Giving the Gift of Clean Hands Although children seem to be less affected by COVID-19 than adults, pediatricians like Priscilla Mpasi are worried about children’s health and well-being as a whole.

“Often children are not at the top of the conversation, and for us that’s a challenge because a lot of students aren’t getting the healthy meals they would normally get at school.

Some are experiencing anxiety and depression from isolation, or are living in difficult or dangerous home situations,” Mpasi says.

Healthcare providers are also seeing an uptick in children’s injuries because they are spending so much time at home and playing outside with less supervision, she says. Mpasi works at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the primary care clinic and also rotates between the urgent care and emergency department.

“We’re doing a lot of educating families about symptoms or what to look for, and when to go to the ER or urgent care,” Mpasi says. “Parents and families have high anxiety about the virus.

Our office is experiencing a high volume of phone calls.”

She has been advising parents to keep bringing in their children for ongoing treatment of co-existing conditions such as asthma, heart problems, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis and developmental delays.

“We should be laying eyes on them,” Mpasi says.

“We don’t want them to stay home and not get treated for things when they need to be seen.

That can have a negative impact. We’re doing a lot of outreach.”

To keep children and their parents or caregivers safe when they come into her clinic, the urgent care or the emergency department, every parent and child gets a mask at the door if they don’t already have one. Also, each child can only come in with one adult caregiver.

Mpasi’s office also staggers appointments by a half an hour, and at both the clinic and the urgent care, patients and parents wait in the car and are asked to come in by text. “You’re not going to see crowds in waiting rooms,” Mpasi says. “This limits exposure and also helps the children because they’re becoming anxious. They don’t understand why they can’t see other kids or why they have to wear a mask.

We have to pay attention to their mental and emotional well-being as well as their physical health. It’s a lot of balance.”

Sometimes when children see the doctor wearing full protective gear - a mask, gloves, face shield, full gown, they will become afraid that there is something seriously wrong with them, Mpasi says. “We explain to them right away that we’re doing that in order to keep everyone healthy.”

Pediatricians are not seeing high numbers of COVID-positive cases, she says. A multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in children is more concerning now. “It can start with fever, red eyes and red tongue; it looks like a known pediatric-specific illness. Different body parts become inflamed like the heart, lungs or gut,” Mpasi says. “Then it becomes severe so they have to be hospitalized. I haven’t seen that personally, but it’s on our radar because it has been reported.”

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Priscilla Mpasi, Pediatrician and Children’s Health Advocate

“With kids, we’re thinking about right now and what’s next. What’s school going to look like?

Also as adults go back to work, are we ready to put children back in summer camp? Are they ready to go back to school, is it going to be online? Will they even be mentally ready?” she asks. Also, cold and flu season starts in October, so that will be another concern.

“I think parents are being amazing right now. Working, teaching kids in different age ranges. A big part of our focus has been on mental health and well-being, for both children and parents. We consider whether we need to connect them with a social worker to give support,” Mpasi adds.

She advises parents to get their information from trusted messengers. Mpasi has been working to educate her community about health policy issues surrounding health and wellness. “I’ve been fortunate to work with local and state officials,” she says. Once a week she participates in a virtual panel with leaders in education and finance and local officials to talk about social distancing, PPE, protecting oneself, hand sanitizing and other topics.

“We advise people about what to do when they have symptoms, when to be seen by a doctor and get tested, where to access food and how to get their stimulus checks. Things people don’t realize pediatricians have to think about, like, is the family able to pay bills and get food? I’ve had to educate myself even more about the city, utility companies, emergency assistance and especially now, how you manage a quarantine in a multi-generational household,” Mpasi says.

“People always think about children, but people don’t always act for children,” she says.

“That’s why it’s important as pediatricians for us to be their voice, to ensure that segment of our community is cared for and given equal weight.”

“We have to pay attention to children’s mental and emotional well-being.”

In 2020, KO Distilling joined the fight against COVID-19 by re-tooling the distillery for the production of Bare Knuckle Hand Sanitizer. Current Good Counsel Parent Pat Flannery ’86, a principal at the company, organized the donation of two five-gallon containers of the hand sanitizer to Good Counsel.

Flannery, father of Good Counsel student Meghan Flannery and husband of Science Teacher Angie Flannery, joined KO in 2019. “After 30 years in government consulting, the craft spirits business was an interesting change,” he says. “When COVID happened, we had to shut down our tasting room and close to the public. We are very lucky though to have the ability to pivot to making something so important and in such high demand.” He donated the hand sanitizer to the high school in order to help with preparations for reopening.

“Bare Knuckle Hand Sanitizer is dedicated to the men and women on the front lines fighting COVID-19,” Flannery says. KO, based in Manassas, Va., salutes the fighting spirit of all first responders, transportation workers, active duty military and National Guardsmen, essential businesses, health care providers, food delivery workers and any organization or individual putting themselves in harm’s way caring for others. KO is producing 1,500 gallons of Bare Knuckle Hand Sanitizer per week until the COVID-19 crisis is over.

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Most of us are working on COVID because we’re

Behind

available and it’s important.

the Masks

Alumni in the Fight Against

COVID-19 Ever since much of the world came to a standstill in 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, alumni from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School have taken on the formidable challenge of healing the sick. These are just a few of their stories.

Malaria is the disease that Dr. Gregory Deye was working to eradicate until earlier this year. “Usually I focus on parasitic diseases; I oversee clinical trials for new drugs and vaccines for things like malaria and tropical diseases,” he says. Like most other medical researchers across the world, he had to abandon his projects when the pandemic hit.

Deye and other infectious disease specialists around the world have pivoted to focus on COVID-19 and the coronavirus that causes it. “Most of the trials I was working on before – most medical research aside from COVID – has been closed down,” he says.

Deye works at the National Institutes of Health coordinating clinical trials with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He also treats patients at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda and teaches at the Uniformed Services University.

“Most of us are working on COVID because we’re available and it’s important,” Deye says. But, he adds, “The impact on other vaccines and drug development is a global health issue.

The effect of the world not being able to participate in these other life-saving measures is going to be huge, Deye says.

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Dr. Gregory Deye, Infectious Disease Specialist

By Jane Bornhorst This article was written in May 2020.

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In recent years, the medical community had made significant progress toward squelching malaria, decreasing the number of worldwide deaths to 400,000 per year, down from 1.2 million in 2010.

“Most of those who die from the disease are under the age of five, and in Africa,” Deye says. “Because of COVID-19, 700,000 deaths are expected in the next year. Tuberculosis excess deaths will be even more.” These catastrophic cascading effects haven’t been widely reported, he adds.

However, Deye doesn’t downplay the importance of the search for a vaccine and drugs to treat COVID-19.

“Most of the drugs fall into one of two categories,” he explains. The first type targets the virus and prevents it from

replicating, so the treated patients would have less copies of the virus in their bodies and therefore fewer symptoms. “One of these is Remdesivir – results came out in May. It was shown to be successful at decreasing the time of hospitalization and probably the death rate,” Deye says, but more testing is needed. The Remdesivir research was done within an NIH-sponsored trial.

“Then there are drugs related to the individual’s immune response to the virus. We think some of what makes people sick is not the virus itself but the inflammation caused when your body reacts to the virus, so we’re looking at drugs trying to modify your body’s response to the virus to decrease the severity of it,” Deye says.

Finally, researchers are working to find a viable vaccine, which normally takes years to develop, test and produce.

“We’re hoping to do it a lot faster than that,” Deye says.

“Recently we have seen a couple of vaccines in development and supported

by NIH that have protected monkeys, and that’s always very useful,” he says.

“Others have shown that after monkeys have been infected, they can’t get infected a second time, so we’re hopeful that humans can develop immunity to this virus.”

Some of the early vaccine trials in humans showed that the vaccines were safe and that people developed antibody responses; those are major victories, Deye says. “The more hurdles you get past, the better the chance of success.

Those are very good signs.”

However, Deye cautions that even after a safe, effective vaccine is found, hundreds of millions of doses will need to be manufactured. That will be the final hurdle.

GOOD COUNSEL BY THE NUMBERS

98%

acceptance rate to four-year institution

0

47%

100

accepted into Honors Programs across 49 colleges and universities

62 percent

have been offered a college scholarship for a total of

28

$

International Baccalaureate students awarded academic scholarships, totaling

$7.1 million

31%

$34.5 million

attending private schools

Attending

113 colleges and universities in 27 states, the

District of Columbia, Netherlands and Canada

297

members of the Class of 2020

35 NCAA student athletes

111

students attending one of

U.S. News’ Top 100

60%

Colleges and Universities

going out of state for college

AVERAGE SAT score for Class of 2020 in the top 25 percent 2020

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DONOR

Bridging the Past and Future

Brothers Champion Good Counsel’s Endowment

For brothers Kevin and Matt McCormack, their years spent as students at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School were some of the most impactful of their lives. Their father’s dedication to giving them the best education possible was one aspect of what made their experience so special.

This is why Kevin ’86 and Matt ’89 choose to support Good Counsel philanthropically; it is a way to honor their father, Patrick McCormack, who passed away in 2018.

“Obviously our dad was very special to us and he instilled in us a strong drive toward academic achievement. If there’s some way we can honor his role in our lives at Good Counsel, that would be very special for us,” Matt says.

In June, Kevin completed serving for nine years on the school’s Board of Directors, which included participating on the Advancement Committee. “My father valued education. His parents were teachers, so education was a preeminent priority for him and his children,” he says.

“We would like to honor him in some way that honors education. He looked back fondly on the fact that he sent his children to Good Counsel. He felt it served us well,” Kevin says. Kevin and Matt’s sister, Leah

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(McCormack) Kramer, also graduated from Good Counsel, in 1990.

The brothers feel supporting the school’s endowment and scholarships is the ideal way to ensure it can continue its mission for future Falcons.

“I was very glad to see the efforts in establishing an endowment and growing it because I really feel it’s going to be a necessary step in the continuation of the school’s mission,” Matt says.

“It’s mission critical,” Kevin agrees. “The future of the school and our ability to deliver and execute on our mission, which is to help students from all sorts of backgrounds attend Good Counsel, is vitally important.

The vehicle for achieving that is an endowment fund that helps deliver financial aid and tuition assistance,” he adds.

The pace of acceleration of tuition costs across the country is on a potentially unsustainable path, so an

endowment becomes a vitally important project for ensuring a school can continue to thrive, Kevin says.

The brothers have given back to Good Counsel in a number of ways over the years, by supporting scholarships, The Fund for Good Counsel and the Performing Arts Center.

“When I think about Good Counsel, I think about the tradition of excellence in the classroom and in sports,” Matt says. “Seeing the accomplishments and achievements of students today is really impressive.”

Matt, a urologist in Reno, Nevada, says the school had a profound effect on his growth. “As a result, I feel it is a privilege to participate in some small way in allowing students today to experience what I did as a student. If a gift of financial support can do that, or support of academics and the endowment, if it can help further Good Counsel’s mission, then I’m happy to do it,” he says.

(Left to right) Matt McCormack ’89, Leah McCormack Kramer ’90, Norma McCormack, the late Patrick McCormack, Kevin McCormack ’86

Matt’s strongest memories of Good Counsel are of the unique and wonderful community, he says. “It was particularly meaningful in lots of aspects of student life, whether it be athletics, clubs or activities, which were quite robust,” he says. “That was formative in my development.”

He was on the swim team for four years and dabbled in football and lacrosse at Good Counsel. “Perhaps one of my favorite memories was the senior softball team with Mr. Burns as the head coach. He was one of my most inspiring teachers coming through there, so it was fun to have him as a coach,” Matt says of the history instructor.

He fondly remembers the personal and spiritual development he gained at

retreats, as well as mentorship he received from teachers and administrators. “They were deeply involved in the lives of students,” Matt says. “That really made an impact on me.”

Kevin, a senior vice president with Wells Fargo, lives in Arlington, Va. He was instrumental in helping Good Counsel build an alumni business networking program.

“I’ve endeavored to bring Good Counsel alumni and constituents together in a business capacity to harmonize and unify our alumni association, parents and all constituents to make them more aware of each other and what we can do for one another – to leverage all of our expertise to benefit one another,” Kevin says. “I think a

business networking program can achieve that goal.”

The program is event-driven.

“We’ve put together networking happy hours and mixers for alumni to meet one another and for members of the Good Counsel community to connect with old friends and meet new friends, with the goal being to increase and enhance the amount of good business that Good Counsel constituents do with one another,” Kevin says.

During his time on the Board, he also served on the Nominating Committee, the Finance Committee and the Campaign Planning Committee to build a Performing Arts Center.

Kevin spends as much free time as possible helping Good Counsel. “Serving on the Board

has been very beneficial for me and I hope Good Counsel benefited from my involvement,” he says. “It is fulfilling for me to give back to my school that gave me so much.”

“I’ve been involved with Good Counsel for many decades since I left, and I’ll be involved for many more. The school provided me so many things and it’s part of my mission not only as an alum, but also as a Catholic,” he says. “Charity and giving back to those who helped you along the way is an essential Catholic mission.”

If you are interested in helping build the school’s endowment, please contact Julie Potter, chief advancement officer, at jpotter@olgchs.org or 240-283-3234.

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SCHOLARSHIP

BRINGING LIGHT AFTER TRAGEDY This year, Donna Eversley and Nia Ramsammy ’20 experienced unparalleled hardship when Arnold Ramsammy, beloved husband and father, died after a long battle with colon cancer. Throughout this difficult time, they say, Donna and Nia received uplifting support from the Good Counsel community.

Giving back to the community was fundamental to who Arnold was and what mattered most to him. To continue his legacy of generosity, Donna and Nia established the Stan Spottswood ’80 Servant Leader Scholarship, honoring Stan Spottswood, Nia’s beloved choral teacher. The scholarship is in support of the community that helped Nia find her passion, pushes her to work hard, supports her through difficult times and paved her path forward.

Donna and Arnold always believed that people owe their success and opportunities to the people who came before them, who fought and sacrificed so they could achieve their goals.

Arnold believed that individuals are called to be the “shoulders” for others to stand on so that together, they can lift others to greatness.

“People need to realize that they are the key to Good Counsel’s future. The Falcons in 10-20 years are counting on the actions taken by our community members now,” Donna says.

“You do not have to be the $100,000 donor; gifts of all sizes make a difference,” she says.

“The act of giving matters, not the amount you can give. Your ‘little’ donation can make an enormous difference to the person impacted by your support.”

In an interview before his passing, Arnold said, “We try to give our daughter values – to respect people, to be compassionate – and

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although we are not rich by any stretch of the imagination, we teach her to always reach back and help someone less fortunate than yourself. It can be giving a kind word, or something small, and who knows, the next Einstein could be out there, just waiting for someone to help.”

“The act of giving matters, not the amount you can give.

Your ‘little’ donation can make an enormous difference to the person impacted by your support.”

Nia, who wants to serve others now that she has graduated, says, “In their time at Good Counsel, students come to know love and learn to love others, but in return, they must go out and serve. They have a responsibility to give back.”

Monique Thomas ’21 received the inaugural Stan Spottswood ’80 Servant Leader Scholarship. Monique says she is grateful to receive this scholarship not only for the financial support it provides, but also for the qualities the scholarship emphasizes including good character, a commitment to excellence and musical talent. Monique says she has been lifted up by others. She identifies her teachers, fellow students and family as the shoulders upon which she stands.

At Mr. Ramsammy’s funeral, Monique came to understand and appreciate the depth of the Good Counsel community and the love and support that it has for its members. She says she is determined to leave a legacy of effort at Good Counsel and be a leader for incoming freshman and sophomores.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can endow a scholarship to support future Falcons, please contact Savannah Renehan, director of corporate, foundation and donor relations, at srenehan@ olgchs.org or 240-283-3384.

PRESIDENT

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BROTHER MARK AWARD

A Desire to

EXCEL, SERVE AND LOVE

Ryan Hoffman ’20 sat on a couch in the basement with his mother and sister when the unexpected moment came. “My mother burst into tears,” he says.

The family had received the surprising news that not only was Hoffman nominated for the Brother Mark Award – Good Counsel’s highest honor for seniors – but he had won.

“I thought the award wouldn’t be announced until graduation,” Hoffman says.

Instead, the family saw Ryan’s name on the screen while watching the school’s award ceremony virtually. “It was one of the best experiences I’ve

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had throughout high school,” he says. “Just to see the shock and joy on my mom and sister’s faces, that was great.”

The Brother Mark Award, named for GC’s founding principal, Brother Mark McCarthy, is awarded each year to the outstanding senior who has given the most of himself or herself to make Our Lady of Good Counsel an exceptional school. It has been won by such outstanding alumni as Seminarian James Fangmeyer Jr. ’11.

Hoffman is described as a leader and a generous person by those who know him best.

BROTHER MARK AWARD

“He is selfless, passionate, responsible and insightful. His contributions to our boys’ basketball program were immeasurable: practices, games, coach’s meetings, workouts, bus trips, film sessions, etc.”

— G.J. Kissal

“Ryan embodies what we all love about Good Counsel and the values it helped instill in us,” says G.J. Kissal ’91, head coach of boys’ basketball while Hoffman was the team manager.

“He is selfless, passionate, responsible and insightful.

His contributions to our boys’ basketball program were immeasurable: practices, games, coaches meetings, workouts, bus trips, film sessions, etc.,” Kissal says. “I learned from Ryan daily what it means to excel, serve and love. Ryan is Good Counsel.”

Michael Haight, who taught Hoffman honors biology, honors chemistry and AP chemistry at Good Counsel, agrees. “Ryan Hoffman is a wonderful student, has tremendous character and is conscientious in everything he does,” he says. “His persistence in honing his craft and putting all his energy into something is infectious.”

Hoffman is humble when he reflects on winning the Brother Mark Award. “I couldn’t have done it without my classmates, teammates, Coach Kissal, Mr. Haight, Mr. Abdo – the campus minister – and Mr. Hanel. I can’t thank them enough for what they did to help me to grow as a person,” he says.

Hoffman says collaborating with the boys’ basketball coaching staff as manager and his time

with XBSS were major influences that helped him to grow. (XBSS is an invitation-only student organization focused on service and stewardship in the Xaverian tradition.)

“XBSS helped me see what true leadership is and helped guide me through my spiritual journey,” he says.

Hoffman’s path within the basketball program was an evolving one. He played on the freshman team and tried out for the JV team but was cut.

“The coach offered me the manager of the JV team position, and I took it,” he says. “Halfway through my sophomore year, I was asked to be assistant student coach/manager of the varsity team.” This turned into a fortuitous opportunity.

“Coach Kissal and his entire coaching staff let me sit in on meetings and see how they make decisions. Eventually one day I’ll get there, making big decisions,” Hoffman says.

He also credits Mr. Haight with sparking his interest in chemistry. “I am going to the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus to study chemistry next year,” Hoffman says. “I had Mr. Haight three years in a row, and I definitely have to thank him because I would not be doing the things

I’m doing in college without him. He showed me what I could be passionate about.”

“Normally I’d be excited to live on campus, get away and begin the adjustment between high school and life.”

Good Counsel not only offers a fantastic education, Hoffman adds, but also a foundational understanding of the external world. “I like the lessons they’ve taught outside of school,” he says. “The education I received helped me get into many schools I really wanted to get into – but what really makes Good Counsel a terrific tool is community; the environment it surrounds its students with. Teachers, students, alumni, faculty and staff make the experience so strong for students.”

“High school isn’t easy for anybody, so having that great community around you helps you succeed,” he says.

Hoffman was accepted into UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which helps undergraduates stay on track to earning their Ph.D., with a focus on helping minorities to get Ph.D.s in STEM fields through structured mentoring.

Like others entering college across the country, Hoffman is uncertain what his freshman year will look like. “I don’t know if I’ll be on campus, or doing online learning, or half and half, because of the uncertainty right now,” he says.

Either way, he is eager to get started building his future. “I am excited to learn and see what I can do with my life. Obviously I’m young and there’s a lot I can do,” he says.

The summer after Hoffman’s junior year at Good Counsel, he had an internship with Dr. Michael Summers, a UMBC professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHM) Investigator, conducting HIV treatment research. This was an enormous influence on Hoffman, who wants to help others by working to cure diseases. He plans to get a Ph.D. in chemistry and become a researcher.

“The internship opened my eyes to what research is,” Hoffman says. “I want to do that. It combines the two things I love – helping people and science. We could potentially cure so many things. COVID, cancer, other diseases,” he says.

“In college I’m going to focus on academics, but I’ll definitely go to basketball games too,” Hoffman laughs.

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2019-2020 COMMUNITY PARTNERS

PLATINUM FALCONS $10,000 Our Lady of Good Counsel High School’s Community Partners Program offers a comprehensive way for local and affiliated businesses

Flood Family

to support our students and school community.

The membership fees build the school’s endowment, securing the future of Good Counsel and establishing

Celtniek Family

STEAKHOUSE & RAW BAR

an enduring legacy that will benefit students in perpetuity.

The Community Partners Program offers four sponsorship levels that deliver broad-based marketing and networking opportunities for alumni,

George Glekas ’91 & Family

Michael J. McCartin, CPCU & Family

current parent, past parent and local businesses.

Our partners are integral members of the GC community. If you are interested in joining the program, please contact Savannah Renehan at srenehan@olgchs.org.

Sardellis Family

Todd Dickerson ’89 & Family

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2019-2020 COMMUNITY PARTNERS

GOLD FALCONS $5,000

Gorman Family Givens Family

Steve E. Richter ’75

Potter Family

Celtnieks Family Rockville-Olney and Silver Spring North Gutierrez Family

Phil Mantua ’76

Worch Family

BLUE FALCONS $2,500 debbieva

m

Shioutakon Family

Olney

Marty Murphy Lanning Family

Schilling Family

2020

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EVENTS RECAP

37TH ANNUAL

GOLF CLASSIC

Raises Nearly $30K for Scholarship Support

SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER Dinner

Highlights Impact of Philanthropy

In a time when financial aid is more important than ever, generous sponsors, community partners and participants of the Steve Dean Classic raised $29,500 for the Steve Dean ’67 Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund. In an effort to bring back the original energy, sense of camaraderie and spirit of the Classic, the tournament was played one-course at one-time.

At the sold-out tournament, Manor Country Club was bursting with GC alumni, community partners, faculty and current parents.

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This year, the $5,000 scholarship was awarded to Mary Thorpe ’21 for her 2020-21 senior year. The fund was created 37 years ago in honor of Steve Dean ’67, who passed away in 1976 due to complications related to cerebral palsy. Mary embodies Steve’s love of Good Counsel through her involvement in academic, social and athletic programs. The 38th Annual Steve Dean Golf Classic is planned for September 21 at Manor Country Club.

2020

The annual Saint Francis Xavier Dinner is always a celebration of those donors who give $1,000 or more faithfully each year to the school, whether through the Fund for Good Counsel, the Community Partners program, for scholarships or other restricted area of need. This year, the dinner highlighted not only those who have made a significant impact financially, but also the talented students who are the recipients of their generosity.

Over 200 attended the celebration dinner, which included performances by Stan Spottswood ’81 and his talented chamber choir, a reading of Langston Hughes’ poem Harlem, by speech and debate team member Alex Goutier ’20, a scene from the fall play 12 Angry Jurors and a moving speech by George Wolo ’20.

“Had it not been for those of you here tonight giving out of the kindness of your heart and

spreading the blessings God has blessed you with, I honestly believe my life would be different, and I am sure that my peers who have been recipients of your donations would say the same,” said Wolo, a recent XBSS leader who is attending the University of Buffalo on a football scholarship this fall.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings, the 2020 SFX Dinner will be held April 29, 2021 to include scholarship recipients and donors.

EVENTS RECAP

Time to

When we look back at the 32nd annual Grand Celebration, one word comes to mind: Gratitude. We are grateful that the Grand Celebration took place days before the state shut down and stay-at-home orders commenced. We are grateful for the 400 alumni, current parents, past parents and community partners who came together on Saturday, March 7, 2020 to donate over $142,000 toward endowed financial aid, the school’s most critical need, especially now as our families face the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The evening’s net profit of $234,526 set a record for this event.

A new highlight to the evening is honoring four distinguished members of our community. We are grateful to Kevin Blackistone ’77, our Distinguished Alumnus of the Year; Thomas and Patricia Fay, our 1958 Cornerstone Award recipients; Kelly Hughes, the Our Lady Award recipient; and Dr. Richard Slocum, the inaugural recipient of the Magnificat Award.

CELEBRATE

SAVE THE DATE Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 5, 2021 and plan to join us for next year’s unforgettable evening of philanthropy at the 33rd Grand Celebration.

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REUNION WEEKEND

ALUMNI REUNION WELCOMES FALCONS HOME Good Counsel welcomed hundreds of alumni home for Reunion Weekend 2019. Classes ending in 4s and 9s attended festivities to reconnect with classmates and celebrate their Good Counsel experiences.

Activities began on Friday, October 18 with the Falcon Fest tailgate and football game against rival Saint John’s College High School. Saturday’s events included the fourth Annual Jabari Outtz Alumni Basketball Game, the first annual Alumni

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of Color luncheon and the evening reunion receptions on campus for 2004-1964 classes in the Alumni Gallery. The 5th and 10th reunion classes celebrated together at Mission in Washington, D.C. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings, the 2020 alumni reunions for classes ending in 5s and 0s will now take place Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1, 2021.

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REUNION WEEKEND

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SPOTLIGHT

COME ON OVER and Say Hello to…

Jessica Sardella Jessica Sardella joins the advancement team as director of annual giving. For nearly a decade, she has worked to advance the missions of prestigious educational institutions.

Before coming to Good Counsel, Sardella worked at Johns Hopkins University, where she spent five years as a development officer at the Whiting School of Engineering. There she raised more than $1.3 million in support of the school’s greatest priorities. Prior to her time at JHU, Sardella spent over four years at Hood College in Frederick, Md., helping to lead their annual giving program that raised over $1.6 million per year.

Sardella is an important asset to Good Counsel, President Paul Barker says. Her experience will translate perfectly to continuing to build support for the school and its programs.

“I am excited to be part of the Good Counsel community as the bridge between alumni and friends that want to support the school philanthropically and the needs of the school so Good Counsel can continue to flourish during these unprecedented times,” Sardella says.

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2020

George “GJ” Kissal ’91 A very familiar face on campus as a teacher and head boys’ basketball coach, GJ Kissal joins the advancement team as director of alumni engagement.

He will focus on developing engaging programs, activities, events and opportunities for alumni.

“I am very excited about my new role.

Thank you to Dr. Barker and Julie Potter for this opportunity. I look forward to building on the great work already begun and am eager to continue connecting our powerful alumni network to the school we all love so much,” Kissal says.

Kissal has taught honors anatomy and physiology, honors biology and served as the basketball coach since 2016.

During this time, he has connected with alumni at the annual reunion basketball game and the Xaverian Classic tournament, and helped build support for the Falcon Tuition Fund.

Kissal has connections to alumni from both the Wheaton campus and the Olney campus, institutional knowledge and passion for the school. He looks forward to seeing many familiar alumni faces at events this year and beyond.

CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES 2015 LAUREN FREENY graduated from Radford University in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in special education for deaf and hard of hearing.

Upon graduation, she was hired by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to work with an elementary school’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) program. Lauren has spent the past year working at MCPS’s Total Communication site, where she uses a variety of communication modalities to teach elementary-aged deaf and hard of hearing students.

Lauren also used this time to apply to doctoral programs for Audiology. She is thrilled

to share that she accepted admittance to Washington University in St. Louis. She will join their School of Medicine’s program in Audiology and Communication Sciences (PACS) in the fall. Throughout her teaching experiences, Lauren has observed the important role that audiologists play in ensuring success for deaf and hard of hearing students in the educational setting. It is Lauren’s hope to pursue specialty tracks in pediatric audiology, and contribute to the fields of pediatric and educational audiology upon completion of her doctoral program.

ANNE-MARIE MILLER was chosen to speak at her graduating class’s nursing convocation and to provide closing remarks.

KATIE OGORZALEK received a Master of Arts in graphic design from Maryland Institute’s College of Art in May 2020.

LAUREN FREENY

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PRESIDENT

SHANE EBERLE

2014 SHANE EBERLE graduated from Columbia University in New York, N.Y. in 2019 with a degree in financial economics. At Columbia, he played varsity men’s basketball from 2015-19, including on the team that won the 2016 CollegeInsider.com PostSeason Tournament. Columbia was only the second Ivy League team ever to win a postseason tournament crown. Eberle also completed more than 1,180 hours of volunteer work in the New York metro area, including for Habitat for Humanity, Columbia Mentorship Programs, Central and Eastern Harlem Soup-Kitchen and Food Distribution Programs and others.

He also served as vice president of recruitment and education and as vice president of finance for the Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity; the fraternity gave him a leadership award for his service.

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2020

ARMY CAPTAIN STEPHANIE R. DERISO

2010 ARMY CAPTAIN STEPHANIE R. DERISO is a student at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Bragg, N.C., where she is immersed in advanced regional, language and tactical training to prepare her for assignment overseas as a civil affairs officer working in potentially austere or hostile environments.

Prior to this assignment, Stephanie was selected for and served as a member of an elite all-female team deployed to Afghanistan to support U.S. Special Operations combat missions during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Previously, she served as a military police officer during Operation Atlantic Resolve and as a mortuary affairs specialist at Dover AFB, Del. DeRiso is also pursuing her master’s in professional studies in emergency and disaster management at Georgetown University.

PRESIDENT

2009 JOHN WITTE played for the 2019 Championship-winning Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team, the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

2006 DYLAN MULCAHY is teaching music and English and is head of the electives department at Fusion Academy in Ardmore, Penn.

JOHN WITTE

2000 NATALIE (BLANDON) LAMB is the first-ever female director of Drill Instructor School at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Also, she has been selected to be the next commanding officer of the Marine Corps recruitment station in Fort Worth, Texas.

1995

NATALIE (BLANDON) LAMB (sixth from left)

CARA (HEWITT) GRANT has completed her doctoral degree in educational leadership with a concentration in curriculum and instruction.

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COLLEEN NUSSER

1993 COLLEEN NUSSER created a design business, Gratzer Graphics LLC, which focuses on serving nonprofit organizations, in 2003. She is also an accessibility consultant, having been trained three years ago by one of the top accessibility experts to the federal government, who sought her out to take her course because of her sharp creative and technical skills.

In May 2019, she provided training on accessibility to the U.S. Department of the

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Interior and is in the process of developing a course on website accessibility. Last year, she started a second business, Creative Boost, through which she offers mentoring to graphic designers and publishes the Design Domination podcast for freelance and aspiring graphic designers. The podcast focuses on business development skills.

Nusser also raises money and awareness for shelter animals with her CafePress and Zazzle stores, from which she donates all proceeds to animal rescues.

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1992

1987

CHARLENE BLANKENSHIP owns Laurel’s House of Horror and Escape Room in Laurel, Md. along with her husband, Howard County Firefighter Richard Blankenship. They transformed an old six-cinema theater into the haunted house in 2014, and the business is becoming more popular each year. The business helps non-profits such as the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department, Savage Fire Department and others. When Ellicott City was damaged by historic floods, the Blankenships raised funds to help the recovery effort. They would love to see Falcons visit the House of Horror this Halloween or any time!

BRIAN POVINELLI returned to the D.C. metro area two years ago and is happy to be back.

CHARLENE BLANKENSHIP

1985 CHRISTOPHER SAMPOGNA retired as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent on November 30, 2019 after 25 years in Southern California. He and his wife, Nicole, will retire in Frankford, Del., in the Estuary neighborhood in 2020.

They also welcomed a second grandchild in September 2019.

CLASS NOTES

WELCOME

BABY ▶ LAURA (MILCETICH) GRAY ’02, her husband, Nate, and their twins, Patrick and Cameron, welcomed baby sister, Piper, to their family in July 2019.

▶

In September 2019, BOBBY SENG ’08 and his wife, Kaitlin, welcomed their first child, Alexandra Myhre Seng.

Three days later, VICTORIA (SENG) NELSON ’06 and her husband, Hunter, welcomed their first child, Evelyn Maria Nelson. In November, their daughters were baptized together in a very special ceremony with each couple serving as their nieces’ godparents. The sacrament was celebrated near Fort Worth, Texas, where Victoria lives with her family.

Bobby and his family live in Wheaton, Md., on the location of the old Good Counsel campus. Bobby works as a software engineer at the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory and Victoria serves as manager of corporate strategies with Catholic Charities Fort Worth. Their Good Counsel experiences truly shaped who they are today, and they can’t wait to share their high school memories with Alexandra and Evelyn.

▲ SIERRA NGUYEN ’05 had a baby on December 9, 2019.

▲ GINA VENEZIANO ’01 welcomed her baby boy, Vincent Samuel Bell, on July 11, 2019.

She and her fiancé, Derrick Bell, also got engaged and bought a new home in 2019.

▲ MATTHEW SINKIAT ’05 and his wife, Lorelie, welcomed a son, Liam, on November 26, 2019 at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Md.

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CLASS NOTES

GOOD COUNSEL

Weddings ▲ RYAN BOTTEGAL ’06 married his wife, Marissa, in October 2019.

His brother, Matthew Bottegal ’04, was best man and Steve Ulaky ’06 and Kevin Eckert ’06 were groomsmen.

▲ COURTNEY (CARPENTER) CUNNINGHAM ’09 AND BRIAN CUNNINGHAM ’09 were married on June 1, 2019. Many Good Counsel alumni across multiple generations were in attendance.

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2020

CLASS NOTES

▶ SANTIZA (MAYHALL) FUTRELL ’09 and TYLER FUTRELL ’04 were married on October 13, 2018. The couple is expecting a daughter, Athena Willow, in July 2020.

▼ LEXI RUDOLPH ’12 married Lora Bauer on May 4th. Lexi says the support she received from Good Counsel faculty, staff and Dr. Barker holds a special place in her heart and she is forever grateful for her experience at Good Counsel.

▲ KELLY (TRACY) SULLIVAN ’09 married Dan Sullivan on September 14, 2019.

Twenty Falcons traveled to Dayton, Ohio to celebrate the special day.

▲ SHANNON (BARTON) TYREE ’12 married Lonnie Tyree in Bozeman, Mont. on September 28, 2019. Two Good Counsel classmates, Ryan Watson ’12 and Jackie Warfield ’14, made the trip to Montana to be in attendance.

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CLASS NOTES

1982 JOHN SINGLETON and his wife, Karen, celebrated the graduation of their son, Gus (middle), from Villanova University with a degree in mechanical engineering. They also celebrated the graduation of their son, Jack (right), from the Catholic University of America with a degree in accounting.

Their eldest son, Michael (left), graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2018.

JOHN SINGLETON

1977 MICHAEL BOWE published a second novel, “The Weight of a Moment,” which was included in Shelf Unbound Magazine’s Long-list of Best Indie Books of 2019. Michael makes his home on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound, a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, with his wife, Myrna, and their Shetland sheepdog, Delaney.

MICHAEL BOWE

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2020

CLASS NOTES

1974 JIM BONFILS is running for the office of County Supervisor in Loudoun County, Va., for the Broad Run District this fall. He works in information technology with the company Western Digital. Bonfils also serves as a director for Loudoun Water, chairman for the Goose Creek Scout District and on the Loudoun County Parks and Open Space Board. He and his wife, Terri, live in Ashburn, Va., and their three daughters live nearby.

In their spare time, they enjoy travel and hiking in the National Parks; in June 2019, they hiked in Sequoia and Yosemite.

JIM BONFILS

CHARLIE DESANDO writes a cooking blog, cookingsecretsformen.com, and has a companion YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/ cookingsecretsformen. It is a place for men (and other cooks) to learn shortcuts and secrets to everyday cooking.

TOM TROY became associate editor and editorial writer for "The Toledo Blade" in 2018 after 27 years as a reporter for the paper in Toledo, Ohio.

CHARLIE DESANDO

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CLASS NOTES

GEORGE “RUSTY” RUSSELL

1972

1970

RON DENISSEN retired in January 2018 and moved with his wife, Marie, to Delaware.

BILL FLUM is winding down his autobody shop business to concentrate full-time on real estate investing. His ultimate goal is to spend time restoring classic antique cars, grilling and smoking food, traveling and spending quality time with great people.

HARRY HUMPHRIES retired after 36 years in law enforcement as captain from the Carolina Beach Police Department in North Carolina.

PATRICK MCGINLEY is semiretired, has been married for 36 years and has four children and four grandchildren.

After spending more than 40 years as a botanist and head of botanical collections at the Smithsonian, GEORGE “RUSTY” RUSSELL finished his career as director of collections at the Field Museum in Chicago before retiring in 2018. He currently provides fundraising assistance for the Galapagos Conservancy in Fairfax, Va., where he lives with his wife of 43 years, Debbie, and within minutes of his daughters, Heather and Caitlin, and his five grandchildren.

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2020

Be remembered.

Inspire.

Remembering Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in your will or trust helps ensure a bright future for generations of Falcons.

Our Planned Giving team can help with the many ways you can create a lasting legacy, including:

If you have remembered Good Counsel in your will or would like more information about doing so, please reach out to Savannah Renehan at srenehan@olgchs.org so that we can recognize you in our 1958 Legacy Society and properly thank you for your generosity.

Estate Planning

IRA Charitable Rollovers

Bequests

Beneficiary Designation Gifts

To find out more, please consult your financial advisor.

To access our free Estate Planning guide, visit:

olgchs.giftlegacy.com

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CLASS NOTES

PAUL FEHLNER

1969 PAUL FEHLNER was recently awarded faculty emeritus status by Blue Ridge School in Dyke, Va., for demonstrating extraordinary devotion to the school’s mission, superior performance as an advisor, teacher and coach and exceptional commitment to molding the lives and character of the students in his care.

1967 STEPHEN JUDGE retired as acting attorney general of New Hampshire in 2003. In July 2019, he retired from private practice as a lawyer. Today, he is a part-time business relations administrator for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, a $600 million per-year industry.

1962 MIKE MONTGOMERY welcomed his new granddaughter, Audrey Grace, into the world in October 2018, and celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary a month later. He was deployed with FEMA as a reservist to Oklahoma City from JulyAugust 2019, marking the 45th major disaster and 27th state or territory he has worked in since 1994. He is a retired captain from the U.S. Navy Reserves.

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2020

IN MEMORIAM

IN MEMORIAM

We remember those Falcons who passed over the past year.

May their spirit soar high.

James Boswell ’64 David J. Boyle ’69 Charles Covell ’81 Marc Jon Crisafulli ’90 Paul Fox ’80 Caroline Gaiser ’03 John P. Gwynn ’81 Bradley Hinds ’98 Michael J. Lindsay ’81 James McMahon ’72 Gerald Raffa ’75 Brian Rice ’02 Phillip Sorrells ’18 Carl Vettel ’78 Every effort was made to include all who should be listed here.

We also remember those alumni, faculty and staff who lost loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School 17301 Old Vic Boulevard | Olney, Maryland 20832 PARENTS OF ALUMNI If this issue is addressed to a son or a daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify GJ Kissal, director of alumni engagement, at gkissal@olgchs.org.

Learn About Us at OLGCHS.org

COMMENCEMENT 2020 Falcons Forever