By Cassie Sheridan
Thirty percent of married couples nationwide attended the same college as their significant other and met on campus. Below, a few recent UP alumni share stories about how they crossed paths with their partners.
Carla Kenyon & Jonathan Kenyon Alumni of the Civil Engineering class of ‘11 and ‘12
How did you two meet? We were both civil engineering students and met in surveying class our sophomore year...the rest is history! Professor Mojie Takallou didn't give us too much grief for paying more attention to each other than to our homework (and any grief given was generally directed at Jon).What is your favorite memory together from campus (besides your wedding, of course)? We started dating at the beginning of sophomore year, so there are too many to count! Most of them involved assisting/terrorizing Allen Hansen in the mechanical shop, back when students were employed as shop assistants. Jon worked as a fabricator (he's a talented woodworker and machinist) and I performed engineering lab maintenance and shop organization. Between that, and trying not to get caught breaking intervis, we certainly have plenty of good memories.
Did any special professors or UP faculty attend the wedding? Allen Hansen and his lovely wife Mary Ryan (who is also a '11 alumna and my BFF/right-hand-lady), Dr. Matthew Baasten, Kitty Harmon, Dr. Deborah Munro, and Fr. Gary Chamberland, who presided over the ceremony. Dr. Takallou was unable to attend but sent us a fantastic wedding gift! I apologize if I forgot anyone...
What are you two doing post-grad? We live just outside Austin, Texas. We moved here in December 2012. Jon is stationed at Ft. Hood, an hour north of Austin. He's actually just about to return from a short tour in Liberia where his engineering battalion helped build treatment units and other infrastructure to fight the Ebola epidemic. I work at URS/AECOM in Austin as a Transit & Transportation EIT ("Engineer In Training" - testing for my Professional Engineering license this year!) and spend my free time volunteering, running, or riding my horse, Arty. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corey Nelson & Anna Wetterer Graduating in May 2015
How did you two meet? Corey and I actually met my very first weekend on campus. He came to UP a year before me and lived in Shipstand his sophomore year. I was living in Kenna [Hall], and my roommate and I saw two people playing volleyball. In a fluke stroke of confidence we asked if we could join them and I guess the rest is history. Corey and I were friends and study partners for a long time before we started dating, and we often spent, and still do spend, hours pouring over homework together.
What is your favorite memory together on campus? Our favorite memory on campus was one of those late night study sessions. We were finishing our nonlinear dynamics homework and talking about nothing and everything, until one of us looked at the time and saw that it was long after midnight. I don't remember which one of us said it, but we realized that we'd rather work on homework as an excuse to be together than call it a night and be apart. We both agree it's one of our favorite memories, albeit a rather anticlimactic one. It should also be noted that we both did rather well on that homework assignment.
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Michelle and Kenny King Alumni of the class of '12
How did you two meet? We met playing ultimate frisbee in the West Quad the first weekend of freshman year (2008). Kenny King was a Villain global business and German major, and I was a nursing major living in Mehling Hall. We were friends freshmen year, but because of our majors our paths rarely crossed. Kenny studied abroad in Salzburg sophomore year and then we ran into each other at Dance of the Decades 2011 and began dating shortly after.
What is your favorite memory together from campus? My favorite memory is from when we met. I wasn't very good at ultimate frisbee and I thought it was more like football. I caught the frisbee and ran across the end zone like scoring a touchdown (which is cheating in frisbee). I dumbly asked Kenny, "Is that allowed?" and he replied, "It's okay, you're pretty enough." From that moment on my friends nicknamed Kenny "Frisbee Boy," and I had a massive crush on him all throughout college. When we got married one of my bridesmaids made me a personalized frisbee.
What are you two doing post-grad? I am a nurse at Providence Willamette Falls and work part time for UPSON as an adjunct faculty. Kenny is the CEO of Global ADE, a nonprofit that he started while at UP that strengthens education in developing countries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calvin and Ashley Tuhy Alumni of the class of '14
How did you two meet? We met at the West Quad Social during Orientation Week of our freshmen year. We both joined Chapel Choir, where we got to know each other a bit more. We started dating a few months after school started!
What is your favorite memory together from campus? There are lots of great memories from campus, but one that stands out is Snowpocalypse 2014 that hit Portland our senior year. School was cancelled for a day and a half, and we made snow angels and little snowmen and went sledding with our friends on the Rise Campaign signs and trays from the commons.
Did any special professors or UP faculty attend the wedding? Yes, lots. Fr. Mark Poorman presided, Maureen Briare ran music and Beth Barsotti facilitated marriage preparation sessions. Also, Dr. Thom Faller (our esteemed philosophy professor), Dr. Murphy (Ashley’s conducting professor), Dr. De Lyser (Ashley’s advisor and composition professor), Dr. Nicole Leupp Hanig (Ashley’s voice professor), Dr. Ross Leupp Hanig (Calvin’s economic professor), Craig Swinyard, Pat Ell (Calvin’s LXG advisors), Alex and Danielle Hermanny (friends from our experience in the Character Project Class and Ashley’s experience as an RA), and Kim Nguyen (mother of one of our friends) attended!
What are you two doing post-grad? Ashley is the Music Director for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Vancouver. She also teaches middle school choir at the school attached to the church, and is a rehearsal assistant for the Women’s Chorale at UP.
Calvin is an assistant at CFG Wealth Management in Beaverton. He also sings with some UP alumni and faculty in the Choral Arts Ensemble, volunteers at events around Portland, and helps out the Red Curtain Photo Booth at UP events.
We are both living in St. John’s and are enjoying being able to explore the shops and cafes, hang out with friends and alumni, and take weekend getaways to the [Columbia] Gorge.
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Kyle Kearney and Erin Kearney Alumni of the class of '11
How did you two meet? We met in 2007. It was the second day of classes freshman year in Theology 101. Kyle was the annoying know-it-all with the awkward engineer speech patterns, and I was a quirky-dressed Bay Area hippie. Gradually, during infrequent dinners at The Commons we got to know each other. That was back in the days when The Commons closed around 8:30 p.m. and we frequently got kicked out. But it took till our senior year to get together.
What is your favorite memory together from campus? We were very busy our senior years. So busy that the only time we were guaranteed to see each other was a spot that we each had carved out from our schedules on Wednesday nights, beginning around 10 p.m. and going until one of us decided it was time to go to sleep. Kenny lived in Tyson [Hall] and I lived in Kenna [Hall] so over the years, a route had been established, which went around the back of The Commons to a bench with a view of the city.
On one of these Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings (perhaps prodded by the proximity to Valentine’s Day) I decided that the walk on Feb. 24 was not going to end without me telling Kyle how I felt. Fortunately for my emotions –and my inability to stop shivering, due to the snow that was falling- Kyle shared his feelings with me.
Did any special professors or UP faculty attend the wedding? The presiding priest is someone near and dear to both of our hearts- Fr. Pat Hannon, the pastoral resident in Christie [Hall]. Kyle lived in Christie his freshman and sophomore years, and I lived in Kenna [Hall] all four years, so both of us were regulars at Christie Hall Mass on Monday nights. Several of Kyle’s computer science professors also attended: Professors Vegdahl, Vandergraft and Ward.
What are you two up to now? Kyle is approaching his four year anniversary at Cypress Semiconductor as a software engineer. He is also teaching his fourth computer science lab at UP (Programming for Android). I am looking for work in the nonprofit sector- I most recently worked as the Temporary Outreach Coordinator for SOLVE, which ended just in time to coordinate all the last minute details before the Sept. 20, 2014 wedding. On nights and weekends, we are moving into our first “married people” apartment, wondering why I have so many heavy books and Kyle has so much heavy technology.
