Thanks to Brian McCall, ESIA BA '10, GWSB MTA '12, and Kate (Guesman) McCall, CCAS BA '08, for sharing their story!
[caption id="attachment_14797" align="alignright" width="300"] Brian and Kate at The Kennedy Center in 2008.[/caption]
Where did you meet?
We met on the stage of the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre in the fall of 2006. We were building a set for Juvenelia for [what was then] the department of theatre and dance. Kate had no idea what she was doing and was paired with Brian, who already had many years of set construction experience in high school. We became friends, working on a number of department and student productions over the next two years. Kate was especially grateful to Brian for climbing ladders and adjusting lights for her on one show (definitely not in his job description) when she was afraid of heights.
What were your first impressions of each other?
Kate knew pretty much immediately that Brian was one of the kindest and most capable people she had ever met. Brian (a first-year at the time) was impressed by Kate (who was a junior) and developed a crush on her pretty quickly, but it took us until 2008 to start dating.
[caption id="attachment_14798" align="alignleft" width="200"] Brian, Kate, and baby Jack.[/caption]
Do you have an #onlyatGW moment that you shared as a couple?
Definitely attending President Obama’s inauguration in 2009. We froze on the National Mall in the morning and then attended GW’s inaugural ball that evening. Having Michelle Obama as Brian’s commencement speaker on the Mall in 2010 is also a very special memory.
Tell us about your last visit to campus, or how the school has remained important in your life.
Brian worked for GW Athletics while he was in graduate school, so we were on campus all the time until we moved to California in 2012. We last visited campus in June 2017 while we were in town for a fellow Colonial’s wedding. It’s always crazy to see how much campus has changed. And Brian’s still a big fan of GW Basketball (he traveled to Raleigh in 2014 for the NCAA tournament).
Anything else you want to share?
We currently live in Orange County, California, where Brian practices environmental law at Latham & Watkins LLP. We just welcomed our first child in December, our son Jack.