“Do you trust me?”
They are supposed to be out buying cookies when a high-pitched shriek pierces through the black air of an October night. A female takes off running, her sorority sisters trailing behind her and struggling to keep up. She approaches a shadowy figure and her heart nearly gives out when she realizes what she is seeing: a young man on his knees, holding an object out for her.
Kendall Meyer (now Richards) is not in a horror movie. The young man is her boyfriend, Brad, and the object he is holding happens to be the engagement ring the couple picked out a month prior. The trip to get cookies at midnight with sorority sisters was, of course, planned in secret by Brad as a pretense to get Kendall out of bed so he could propose in a simple, yet heartfelt way.
“I was so happy!” Kendall, a 2011 Fine Arts graduate gushes of her high school sweetheart, “I called my mother and maid-of-honor right away!”
Kendall is not alone in being proposed to as an undergrad, so those worried about becoming single cat ladies for the rest of their lives need not worry. College might be one of the greatest places to meet a prince in shining armor. It’s no secret that at James Madison the students “bleed purple”. The university administration places a heavy focus on school spirit and camaraderie, and students often cite JMU as “the happiest place on earth” (next to Disney World, that is).
There is a long-standing tradition of holding doors, smiling, and one of the highest freshmen retention rates on the east coast. This spirit is the reason that JMU fosters so many relationships, engagements, and marriages. While many female students enter college hoping to earn their BA or BS, they might just come out earning their MRS as well.
For Kendall, who met Brad in high school and powered through three years of college long-distance while Richards attended Worcester Polytechnic in Massachusetts, the relationship wasn’t always easy. “We stuck it out being 10 hours apart, but fortunately Brad graduated a year early.” Upon his graduation, he enrolled in graduate school at VCU to be closer to his high school sweetheart.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect, as several of the couples’ friends began getting engaged. “I probably wasn’t so subtle,” Kendall prompted, noting that the pair went ring shopping prior to the actual proposal.
On the other hand, Allie Dixon, a 2012 graduate of JMU, was completely blindsided by her boyfriend’s proposal. “I was on the Madison Dance Club all four years at JMU. At the end of every semester, we have a show to perform for all of our family and friends. At the end of every show, the head choreographers are called on stage to be recognized,” says Dixon of the moment that her fiancé, Drew, popped the question. “The weird thing was, all of the choreographers came out after me with poster boards turned around so no one could see them. I was so surprised when they turned them around!” Collectively, the three signs stated, “Will… you… marry…”
Drew himself escorted the final sign on stage, “in a full tuxedo, a bouquet of pink roses, and the final sign that said ‘me?’ When he got down on one knee, the audience was screaming and I was balling so hard I could barely say yes!”
Dixon and her beau met in high school, but continued their relationship at JMU. The university played a large part in their relationship, causing them to grow as individuals as well as a couple, and Allie calls it the best experience of her life thus far. “We were both madly in love with JMU and the happiness that it brought us made us happier people in our relationship.”
The couple, whose wedding date is set for 2014, just bought a house together and recognizes that without James Madison University, they wouldn’t have matured together as a pair. “We both changed so much during our time at JMU, and definitely for the better. In life, I believe you either grow together or grow apart and being at JMU allowed us to grow together into a much happier, healthier, more mature couple than ever before.” Says Dixon, “We always joke about retiring in Harrisonburg.”
Students often meet their match for the very first time in college, perhaps even on move-in day. Cayte Merryman, a 2012 graduate and 2009 First Year Orientation Guide, fell in love with her first year, D.J. Brown. The couple began dating in 2011 and when D.J. was drafted to play professional baseball, he proposed. Without the program, says Cayte, she never would have met D.J. “The way the FROG program is set up makes you stay in contact with your “tadpoles” over the semester, but D.J. took it to the next level by actually reaching out to me and being a real friend,” she explains. “It’s a really cool story to say that I am the first girl he met at JMU and we are getting married. Everyone always joked him saying, ‘I can’t believe you are dating your FROG!’ How many times does that happen and actually lead to a marriage?”
The pair is extremely excited to be planning their nuptials in September 2013, and will forever hold JMU as a special place in their hearts. “It’s even more exciting to say that over half our bridal party went to, or is currently attending JMU!”
Lisa Kramer (now Cochran) met her future husband at JMU in 2004 when mutual friends set them up on a date. “I thought he was really cute, but it wasn’t love at first sight or anything. It took some time to connect on a deeper level.” Though their first date didn’t go so well, “I loved being around him, but we weren’t really on the same page until after college. We always had a great time together, though.”
The two held an on-and-off “just friends” type of relationship until well after graduation, but stayed connected nonetheless until they finally began dating in 2008 and have been together since. “We kept in touch all throughout college and after he graduated. We love to talk about college and reminisce about the glory days when we are hanging out with our friends. It’s so funny when he and his guy friends from JMU get together, they all tell the same 4-5 stories; I’ve heard them hundreds of times but it still makes me laugh every time. I think it definitely makes our relationship stronger having that common bond and sharing similar experiences,” says Kramer.
Despite the tornado warning on their wedding day, the couple decided to hold the ceremony outside in the rain, and Kramer still cites it as the best day of her life. The wedding, which took place on September 8th, featured Mr. and Mrs. Duke Dog cake toppers, and Lisa sported a JMU-themed garter.
Of James Madison, Lisa has only positive reflections. “I definitely believe JMU fosters an atmosphere of adventure, genuine friendships, and real life experiences that test your strength, while allowing you to learn and grow up. I’ve learned more about myself in college and about real-world situations than I ever did in a classroom setting.” She maintains that without time to mature in college, she probably would not have ended up falling in love with Lee. “It’s crazy to see how much we have changed but the energy is still the same. It really was the best 4 years of our lives; I’m glad we have that in common and will always be able to relate to each other in that way and in the future when we come back for homecoming.”
So what exactly is it about “bleeding purple” that practically propels students headfirst into love? Katelyn James, a prominent wedding photographer out of Richmond, has a few theories of her own. She has completed engagement shoots on JMU’s campus with approximately six different couples and never fails to find unique settings in which to frame her subjects.
According to James, it is Madison’s physical campus beauty that helps students become so attached. “JMU is a busy campus, which makes it hard to shoot on the Quad, but the architecture and the amazing trees make it a lovely place for an engagement shoot!” She also mentions that the campus is complimentary to her personal photography style. “I love shooting into willow trees and JMU has quite a few!”
It would seem that the passion Madison students have for their school easily transfers to relationships these students create and maintain throughout their four years and beyond. On the University’s official Facebook page, over 85 couples declared their love and JMU spirit in the 2012 Valentine’s Day photo album. These couples range from current students happily dating to couple Kris and Suzette Negaard, who had their first date on Valentine’s Day 1981.
According to Lisa Kramer, “No other place has given me the same positive energy and opportunities to meet such amazing people and feel inspired like the four years I spent at JMU. I think this is why couples easily fall in love here – there’s something about the energy that pulls you in and you don’t ever want to let go of that high.”
While the 70:30 ratio may seem like a bleak dating scene for the ladies of James Madison, there is hope. For those looking for love, Prince Charming may be hiding just around the Quad.