30,000 feet somewhere over the North Atlantic – the passenger in seat 32B notices the man next to her isn’t breathing. “Is there a doctor on board!?” she screams. Dr. Kate Kielty calmy announces “I’ll take care of this.” She resuscitates the man with clock-like precision. Captain Josh Fleitman exits the cockpit to assess the situation. His eyes meet Dr. Kielty’s from across the cabin. The electric connection is instantaneous and undeniable. “How can I ever repay you?” he asks Kate. “Kiss me,” she says longingly, with a flick of her hair. Josh throws off his captain’s hat, embraces Kate, and kisses her passionately. The entire plane erupts in applause. And that’s how Kate and Josh met. OK, not really.

Kate and Josh met at The College of William & Mary at a social mixer between his A Cappella singing group and her equestrian team. Josh chivalrously offered to finish Kate’s drink when she couldn’t during a drinking game. They spent the rest of the night talking, connecting over their similar childhoods spent moving from place to place. The entire time, each couldn’t help but think how easy it was to talk to the other. As the party wound down, it was raining, so Josh lent Kate his umbrella, knowing she would have to see him again to return it. The next night, they got hot chocolate from Aroma’s, a favorite off-campus coffee shop, and walked down Colonial Williamsburg’s picturesque Duke of Gloucester Street – a first date they would replicate each anniversary to come. They watched “Pitch Perfect,” because Kate assumed that’s what Josh’s A Cappella life was like (it wasn’t). Josh sang her “This Love” by Maroon 5 with his guitar. They sheepishly kissed goodnight outside. A few dates later, Josh and Kate knew they had something special. Through ups and downs, they graduated together from William & Mary, and began the next phase of their relationship.

Kate started medical school in Norfolk, VA, and Josh made the difficult decision to pursue his career in government and politics in Washington, DC (after a few months of living in a kibbutz in Israel first...) They never doubted that they would stay together. For four years, they made a long-distance relationship work. Thousands of miles driven between Norfolk and DC. Countless hours spent on the phone whenever they had the time and energy away from their demanding schedules and independent lives. Kate got a dog to keep her company (though that's another story...), and Josh got a cat for himself. They knew that when Kate graduated medical school, she would match into a residency program, and even if Josh had to leave DC, they would finally live together. On March 15, 2019, exactly one year after they got engaged, they opened an envelope and learned that Kate had matched at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA for a six-year residency program. It wasn’t what either of them had expected, but they knew that they were in this together. Josh moved to Pittsburgh in April to start looking for a job, and Kate followed a few weeks later.

Now, they are both thriving. Kate is an resident at Children’s Hospital working to specialize in neurodevelopmental disabilities and Josh works for a gun violence prevention advocacy non-profit. They’ve created a new shared home. They are building the life together they’ve been working toward for years. Kate and Josh invite the family and friends who have been a part of this journey to join them on August 1, 2021 as they become husband and wife.