Love Is in the Air: Kevan FitzGerald ’02 and Kim Shames ‘01

At Fay, Kim and Kevan would have made an unlikely couple, so it’s just as well that their middle school years were a missed connection. A grade above Kevan, Kim was a strong student and a standout athlete. Kevan, on the other hand, describes his academic performance as “average and passable” with athletic accomplishments that fell more into the earnest effort category.

 

While Kim recalls being “aware” of Kevan and his older brother Colin at Fay, they didn’t hang out or have any friends in common. Kevan was less immune to Kim’s charms. “I knew she was a great person and always thought she was attractive,” he says. When Kim moved on to Wayland High and Kevan to Worcester Academy, they seemed destined to spend their lives apart.

 

However, in the summer of 2018, fate stepped in to offer Kevan and Kim a second chance at romance. Kevan was working as an account analyst at Liberty Mutual, and Kim was home from school in California, where she had been working on her Ph.D. in organizational psychology. Finding themselves both back at home in central Massachusetts, Kim and Kevan decided to meet up at a local restaurant. It was only then that they realized just how much they had in common from their days at Fay. Talking about favorite teachers and shared experiences proved to be a great ice breaker. “In the beginning, I think we spent two weeks going back and forth trying to remember what we called the ninth grade prefects,” says Kim. “Little things like that bonded us faster.”

 

“And, of course, it was very important to see if she was a member of the Red or White Team,” notes Kevan. It turns out that they were both members of the White Team—it was meant to be.

 

After two years of dating, Kim and Kevan got engaged this past October and are planning to get married on Martha’s Vineyard in September of 2021. The event will include some Fay friends and family, including Kim’s sister Tracie ’06 and her good friend Lara Schmitz ‘01, as well as Kevan’s brother Colin ‘00 and his friend Alec Palmer ’02.

 

Looking back on lives that ran in parallel without intersecting until recently, Kim points out how unpredictable life can be. “Even if you don’t talk to any Fay kids currently, you never know when they’ll come back into your life!”