Lauren Belliveau distinctly remembers catching a glimpse of 杰克 McGraw at an athletic training event on the Heidelberg campus when she was still in high school. 两人没有开始说话, 虽然, 直到他们在澳门银河网站读大四, when both were leading new member education classes – Lauren for the Philalethean Society and 杰克 for the Excelsior Men’s Society.
“We were doing events together and we had to be in communication about them,” Lauren recalls. “澳门银河网站真的必须一起努力.”
Lauren (now McGraw) and 杰克 have been working together ever since – both literally, 作为母校的员工, 作为一个家庭不断壮大的已婚夫妇.
This adventurous couple now counts themselves among more than 3,000 ‘Berg alumni who have met their spouses while they were students on campus. 在这个情人节, they share the fun and funny stories of their first date, a wild marriage proposal and welcoming their first child, 一个将近1岁的儿子,他们给他取名为芬利.
正式成为情侣
第一次约会, 杰克 wanted to take Lauren to do something that would be a new experience for her. Since they’re both Irish, they started appropriately with dinner at Logan’s Irish Pub in Findlay.
下一个, in what Lauren describes as “a typical 杰克 McGraw move,他们朝一个室内射击场走去. “她是个稳扎稳打的人,”杰克说. They survived that experience, and it was all uphill from there.
After they graduated together in 2015 – Lauren in athletic training (ATR) and health science and 杰克 in criminology -- she headed to Georgia for graduate school at Valdosta State University and he headed back home to Greenup, 肯塔基州.
The long-distance relationship arrangement was less than ideal. 所以在她生日的时候心血来潮, 杰克决定让他的狗吃点东西, 鲁格, and drive 10-plus hours to reunite with Lauren in Georgia.
关于开始他们的职业生涯
By the time Lauren completed her master’s degree in two years later, 这对顾家的夫妇真的很想家. Then came a phone call that would put their careers on an unexpected trajectory.
劳伦的前伯格ATR教授. 瑞安马斯格雷夫, the department chair and director of the graduate ATR program, reached out to her about a job opening teaching in the 健康科学 Department at Heidelberg. For the past five years, she’s been a member of the faculty, joining former professors Dr. Jena Suffel and Tyson Depinet to prepare students for a variety of healthcare careers. 她还担任运动教练.
“我掌握了运动训练的部分. But they really helped a lot to get me in the grove of teaching,” Lauren says.
与此同时, 杰克开始在crossweh工作, a multi-county community-based correctional facility that serves as a residential chemical dependency treatment center in 吃午饭. 他后来加入了非常成功的PIVOT, a program through the local municipal and common pleas courts that offers an alternative to jail and resources for those dedicated to regaining their sobriety.
两年后, he transitioned to the 吃午饭-Fostoria Municipal Court Probation, 去年夏天, 他成了校园安全主管 & 澳门银河网站的保安.
为同一个雇主工作有它的好处. Al虽然 杰克’s position is primarily 8-5, Lauren’s schedule is all over the place. Most days, they’re able to connect over lunch on campus.
“It’s helpful to know where each other’s head space is at all the time,” 杰克 says.
关于他们难忘的求婚
回到2017年, when 杰克 had a crazy idea about proposing to Lauren at Progressive Field, 克利夫兰印第安人(现在的守护者)的故乡. 他想用老办法做事. So one weekend when Lauren was traveling with Heidelberg 体育运动, 杰克溜去看望她的父母了, 谁乐意祝福呢.
劳伦的继父, 戴夫, helped 杰克 cook up a wild idea to take the Progressive Field idea one step further. ”他说, “我可以把你带到现场,这样你就可以求婚了,我觉得这太棒了,杰克记得. “最难的部分是把它卖给劳伦.“但是她的继父很支持她.
Long story short, they ended up at home plate while the opposing team was taking batting practice. 杰克 got down on one knee, popped the question and Lauren promptly ran in the opposite direction. 但她很快就180度大转弯,答应了!
“Never in a million years did I think I could plan an engagement like that. 这将是澳门银河网站永远不会忘记的事情,”杰克说.
关于他们的新常态
杰克 and Lauren have settled nicely into being a family of three. With a 1-year-old and both of them working full time, their days are full. 但他们已经建立了一套行之有效的程序.
“We just try to connect with each other a lot,” Lauren says. They divide tasks and have accepted the notion that sometimes, 他们的房子会很乱, 这没关系. “We really do appreciate each other more when the little things do get done.”
杰克 adds, “We’ve changed from a loving couple to a loving family. 看着彼此成长为父母是件很棒的事.”
他们学会了享受小事情. While they occasionally find time for dinner and a movie, Lauren jokes that she relishes “long strolls through Lowe’s and Rural King, 如果我够勇敢的话,偶尔也去沃尔玛.”
So, what will Valentine’s Day 2023 look like for Lauren and 杰克? “嗯, I’ll have practice that morning (she’s the athletic trainer for the ‘Berg softball team) and I want to be in bed by 9, so I’m available for an hour and a half after Fin goes to bed,劳伦向杰克点点头.
Here’s to at least catching a glimpse of each other today!