Letter from Alumni

Dear Terrier Nation,

I am so excited to be in my new position at Vandebilt Catholic High School! As the new Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, I am eager to continue the great work of all those who came before me and supported the “Fighting Terriers!”

Please allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Doug Hamilton and I am a proud 1987 graduate! My entire family are Terriers! My wife Ginny is a 1991 graduate, my son Michael is a 2021 graduate, and my daughter Laura (2023) will soon graduate. My entire life has been spent supporting and working at VCHS! My mother taught at Vandebilt (beginning in the early 1970s) and very early on I knew this would be a place at which I would love spending lots of time.

Throughout my professional career I have spent time as a minister, teacher, coach, moderator, department chair, and athletic director. I began teaching in 1991 and have enjoyed the amazing journey to my new position. I want to continue to share my passion for everything Vandebilt Catholic!

I am most looking forward to connecting (and in many cases reconnecting) to so many Terrier alumni. Growing up in a Vandebilt Catholic family enables me to recall so many wonderful memories from fairs to family days, from games on Fridays to Masses on Mondays, from “Terry the Terrier” to “Captain Spirit”, from marching band to March for Life! These (and so many more) are the memories that inspire me to give even more of myself to ensure that others have the great experiences that I’ve had as a Terrier.

During these unprecedented times, we are creating more ways of reaching out to Terrier alumni. I look forward to releasing short videos with the idea of spending “Two Minutes with a Terrier.” The goal is to begin producing and releasing these videos as part of our outreach to our nearly TEN THOUSAND TERRIER ALUMNI.

We are also excited to announce vandebiltcatholicconnect.com! This new digital alumni platform will go live in August of 2021! This platform will be used to connect all of our Terriers and will be a great tool for creating a new and updated alumni directory, planning reunions and socials, alumni events and otherwise being a location where Terrier Nation can connect across the decades! We cannot wait to unveil this awesome engagement tool! When it goes live, please join the platform!

Currently, I am working with the Alumni Association board to partner with the Vandebilt Catholic Terrier Club in support of the second annual Terrier Club Alumni Co-Ed Softball Tournament! If you attended the event two years ago, you remember how special it was to have over 1000 Terriers in one place! We are currently working on plans to host the event again on August 6 and 7, 2021! Stay tuned for more information.

I appreciate so many people who have been on this Terrier journey especially those who have begun the process of revitalizing the Vandebilt Catholic Alumni Association. The current board is excited to begin sponsoring alumni events and looking toward even more communication with our past, present and future Terriers!

I want to let all of Terrier Nation know that I love VCHS as much now as I did when I first started coming on campus as a young boy! I look forward to serving the graduates of VCHS for many years to come!

Please reach out to me at dhamilton@vchterriers.org to let me know your Terrier story and be sure to scan the QR code below to update your contact information!

Terriers Forever! Doug Hamilton

Doug Hamilton VCHS ‘87

Board Spotlights

Jeff Bordelon ‘01

Alumni Association President Jeff Bordelon ‘01 joined the Alumni Association earlier this year, after reconnecting with Alumni Director, Doug Hamilton, while in a search of yearbooks to expand his list of VCHS alumni golfers. His desire to reach out to former alumni, as well as his desire to serve VCHS, lead to his willingness and eagerness to expand his outreach to all VCHS alumni by becoming the president of the Alumni Association. He is currently an Investment Advisor Representative with Magnolia Wealth Strategies and married to Layne Holloway Bordelon. They have three young daughters.

Jeff recently spoke to the 2021 graduating class at the annual senior breakfast and said, “Next week you will have your final exams and will likely peel out in your car/ truck onto Tunnel Blvd, like we all have done. I’d suggest that before you do, take a slow look around and imprint some of the images of your life into your brain for long-time storage. I promise you that it will not be long before you are in your late 30s with immense responsibilities and you will want to recapture the freedom that you have had at Vandebilt Catholic.”

Alissa Vincent ‘10 joined the Alumni Association in 2019 and has served as vicepresident for the past two years. She is a proud fourth generation terrier and full-time mom to three-year-old, Maelyn Frances, a future terrier of the class of 2036! After moving back from Destin, FL, Alissa thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with her high school classmates, which led her to volunteering and joining the Alumni Association board. Alissa and her fiance, Brent Autin are very passionate about giving back to the community and enjoy participating in cook-offs on the weekends.

Alissa stated, “I am honored to be part of the VCHS Alumni Association and cannot wait to be part of the progress. The Alumni Association will be a great resource to strengthen our Vandebilt community and continue our lasting bonds.”

Angelique Thibodeaux Barker ‘79 joined the Alumni Association at the beginning of the 20-21 school year as secretary/treasurer. She has been an integral part of database updating over the past few months. Angelique earned her CPA license in 1985 and has been practicing public accounting with Stagni & Company, LLC ever since. She married her high school sweetheart, Michael Barker ’78 and together they have three wonderful children, who are also all VCHS graduates: Michael ’06, Mitchell ’07 and Allyson ’12. Angelique also serves as Vice Chair on the Terrebonne General Health System’s Board of Commissioners.

Angelique shared, “I am excited to work with fellow alumni and the current Alumni Association to reconnect and share the great positive attitude that is brewing at Vandebilt!” Alissa Vincent ‘10

Alumni Association Vice-President