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Did you meet your spouse, fiance or significant other at SIUE? Many happy couples have met on campus and the Alumni Association wants to celebrate their love stories. Whether you met in class or at a campus party, share your love story and connect with other Cougar couples.
To participate, e-mail your information to sjankow@siue.edu. Share the story of how you met and a quick update on where life has taken you as a couple. Please include contact information in your e-mail as well as photos to post online. Your story will be featured with the other couples below and may be selected to be included in a future edition of the eConnection.
Thank you in advance for participating and enjoy the SIUE Love Connection stories below!
Featured Stories:
Philip Gattone (BS '09) & Meredith Burkart (BA '08)
Christopher Logan (BS '98) & Joy (Mamaril) Logan (BS '98)
Tom Gallati (BS '75) & Pam (Vesci) Gallati
Jason Swagler (BM '97, MM '00) & Erica Day Swagler (BM '99)
Tom Niedernhofer (BSE '80) & Shelley (Mettlach) Neidernhofer (BSE '83)
Leonard Hawthorne (BS '71, MS '72) & Ruth (Woods) Hawthorne (BS '70)
Melissa Schaeffer-Hartwig (BS '01) & Nick Hartwig (BS '03)
Donald Rice, II (BS '94) & Rose Anderson-Rice (MPA '95)
Kathryn (Dulles) Groves (BS '00) & Ryan Groves
Dustin Hampton (BS '05) & Stefanie (Schaecher) Hampton (BS '04)
Brett Streb (BS '04) & Katie (Wilson) Streb (BSN '04)
Lawrence Jackson (BS '99) & Kimberly (Shelton) Jackson (BS '00)
Chris Pedo (MPA '06) & Rachel Pedo
Kim (Edgar) Bradley (BS '05) & Chris Bradley
Elizabeth (Johnson) Asbrock (BS '01, MS '07) & Dr. Rodney Asbrock (BS '02)
Edwin Franklin ('82 BA) & Kimberly (Tolson) Franklin ('88 BS, '95 MBA)
Lynn (Long) Schaffner ('83 BS) & Tom Schaffner
Erica Thompson ('06 BS) & Jack Sykut ('06 BS)
Cindy (Holesko) Allen ('06 MBA, '04 BSA) & Justin Allen ('07 MSED, '05 BS)
Andy Shelby ('97 BS) & Karen (Kelleher) Shelby ('99 BS)
Former Chancellor David Werner & Kay (Buxton) Werner ('88 SD)
Susan (Levy) Kulasakara ('88 BA) & Nali Kulasakara ('92 MBA, '90 BS)
Philip Gattone (BS '09) & Meredith Burkart (BA '08)
SIUE assigned Philip and Meredith dorm rooms two doors down from each other in Bluff Hall in 2005. That year, they both made lasting friendships with a group on the floor, who spent the rest of their years at SIUE living with and around each other in Cougar Village. They all spent most of their time in a Cougar Village apartment that became widely known for the pirate flag and skeleton proudly displayed in the balcony window. In 2006, after a year of late night conversations on topics ranging from favorite movies to philosophy, Philip and Meredith began dating officially. "Finally!" all their friends said. Meredith graduated in 2008 and moved to DC to pursue her Masters in Security Studies at Georgetown University. Philip followed her out east in 2009. Together they survived the Great Snowpacalypse of 2010. Philip now enjoys putting his computer engineering skills to work for defense contractor Northrop Grumman, and Meredith has found a fulfilling position with the United States Government. Almost every Friday after work they walk the monuments. Meredith's favorite is the Lincoln Memorial. Philip's is the Washington Monument. In June 2010, Philip took Meredith to the National Mall. On the lawn between the White House and the Washington Monument, he proposed. When she said yes, they sat under the Washington Monument and watched the sun set over the Lincoln Memorial. They're getting married on June 2, 2011, in a small chapel on Wrightsville Beach, NC, and having a two-week beach party with their family and friends to celebrate.
Christopher Logan (BS '98) & Joy (Mamaril) Logan (BS '98)
Christopher Logan and Joy (Mamaril) Logan met their junior year at SIUE (Fall semester of 1996) in Accounting II. It was early morning when Joy spotted Chris waiting to get into the classroom of what was then called "Building II" now known as Founders Hall. Joy approached Chris to talk about their previous class assignment. That's when the love story began. The couple stayed together until they both graduated in May of 1998. The were engaged in the fall of 1998 and married in October of 2000. Chris and Joy have one six-year-old son named Oliver and a two-year-old daughter named Isabella. Joy Mamaril Logan works for Anheuser-Busch InBev as project management for Infrastructure Project Group and Christopher works as a Finance Analyst for Strive Group.
Tom Gallati (BS '75) & Pam (Vesci) Gallati
Hot pants, plaid trousers, tweed sweaters…These may have been the fashion statements of the early 1970s, but to Tom and Pam Galati, they are little pieces of their love story. Tom distinctly remembers what Pam was wearing when they first met at SIUE in 1970. “Hot pants. She wore those for years,” he said. Pam said she had plenty of them, “at least ten pairs!” “And she had these orange velvet boots on,” said Tom. Pam remembers them being suede. She also recalls what Tom was wearing when the couple had their first date at the University Center movie theater. “He had blue and green plaid pants on. And he had on a brown tweed sweater,” she said. “All of my friends said how badly he dressed. But there was something about him. He was funny! I liked his sense of humor.” Through the fashion hits and misses, the couple’s relationship grew and they spent the remainder of their time at SIUE together enjoying school, concerts and other campus activities, especially athletics. Tom was a talented soccer player, playing four seasons as a defender for SIUE from 1970 to 1973. He was also a member of the 1972 national championship team. “We had so much fun at it,” said Tom. “We had the best field in the country by far. It was natural grass, it was beautiful. The practice fields were even better than half of those around the country. It was an exciting time.” Tom went on to have major success as a professional soccer player after his time as a Cougar. He was selected by the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the first round of the draft. He helped the Atoms to the NASL championship and was named the runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. “I got drafted and went and played and then came back and finished school,” Tom said. “And we got married in the middle of the season.” “He came back Friday, we got married on Saturday and flew back Sunday,” said Pam. “That was our honeymoon, going back to Philadelphia for him to play soccer.” The Galatis eventually came back to St. Louis, where they still live. They have two children, two step-grandchildren and a new grandchild on the way.
Jason Swagler (BM '97, MM '00) & Erica Day Swagler (BM '99)
Jason Swagler and Erica Day both played in the SIUE wind symphony as undergraduate music students. Jason played the saxophone and Erica played the flute. One semester, Jason was asked to play the oboe. “We got to sit together, and I got to turn on the charm,” Jason said. One day after rehearsals, Erica invited Jason to Shenanigans. Soon after they started dating in December 1995, Jason was invited to join an R&B group. He toured U.S. embassies and troops overseas as part of a Department of Defense tour in the Mediterranean. The couple kept in touch through letters. Jason earned a bachelor’s in music/jazz performance in 1997 and a master’s in music/music performance in 2000. Erica graduated with a bachelor’s in music/music performance in 1999. They married in January 2000. Erica and Jason have many fond memories of their years as SIUE music students. “My favorite memories are of the flute studio we had at the time,” Erica said. “Our professor was Marie Garritson, and we were a very active studio. We have a lot of funny stories from having to get up early in the morning and drive a hundred miles for a competition.” Jason’s favorite professors, the jazz guys–Rick Haydon, Reggie Thomas and Brett Stamps–have become his coworkers. An instructor of music, Jason has been a faculty member since 2000. He teaches Music 111 and Jazz History and conducts the University’s jazz band. “It’s surreal because the very room Erica asked me out in—the jazz band room—is where I teach every day,” Jason said. Erica’s SIUE experience has also come full circle. She is as an adjunct instructor, working with the private applied flute students. A professional jazz saxophonist, Jason plays nearly 150 dates each year. He has performed in nearly every venue in the St. Louis area and toured extensively throughout Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the U.S. “Students might not realize it while they’re here, but the connections they make with the music faculty and fellow students will be connections they keep throughout the years,” he said. “A lot of the work I get can be traced back to connections I’ve made along the way.” Click here to read the complete interview from the Spring 2010 eConnection.
Tom Niedernhofer and Shelley Mettlach were two of the many SIUE students who could be found watching friends play the popular game in between classes in the student rec center. “These guys were jaw dropping players,” Tom remembered. That’s where he saw Shelley for the first time. Tom and Shelley soon realized they had much more in common than an interest in foosball. “Tom was really into restoring old Porsches, and I used to live up the street from the Porsche factory in Germany,” said Shelley. “We had common interests and quickly became good friends.” The two went on a few dates after Tom graduated in 1980. But when he moved to Fort Meyers, Fla., to work for a structural design firm, their lives took different paths. “We were good buddies for a long time,” said Shelley. “I knew back in our college days that we should have been married, but we were way too young back then. You don’t always see things as clearly as you do when you’re older.” As the years passed, the two would occasionally reconnect, thanks in part to a mutual friend. “Whenever we got together, it was like we were back in our college days,” Shelley said. “It didn’t seem like time had passed.” When Tom proposed to Shelley on Christmas 2002, he did it the “Tom way” which was, as Shelley remembers, “the perfect way.” Tom and Shelley got married in March 2003 in Carmel-By-The-Sea, Calif. “Everything just lined up perfectly. I don’t know why life takes the path that it does,” said Tom. “I had never been married before. Not that I didn’t try. Things were never right. This seemed right. We picked up where we left off at SIUE.” Tom Niedernhofer, ’80 BS, Civil Engineering, is an urban search and rescue program manager for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Shelley Mettlach Niedernhofer, ’83 BS, Civil Engineering, is a program manager for the National Park Service. The couple lives in Oakland, Cali. Click here to read the complete interview from the Winter 2010 eConnection.
Leonard and Ruth were introduced by a mutual friend and alumnus during the fall quarter of 1969. Len was returning to SIUE to resume a degree program, after completing three years of military service. Ruth was beginning her senior year. After Ruth’s graduation, the mutual friend invited them to join him and his wife for a night out as a graduation gift to Ruth. The relationship blossomed, and they were married after Len graduated at the end of the 1971 spring quarter. Ruth was completing her second year of teaching Language Arts in the Alton Unit 11 School District. Len re-enrolled at SIUE and worked as a graduate assistant in the Business Education Department, completing the degree program in 1972. Ruth and Len both retired from the Alton Unit 11 School District in 2003, after completing 34 and 32 years respectively. They have two children pursuing careers of their own; a son, Antoine, in Kansas City, MO and a daughter, Melia, in Chandler, AZ. Len and Ruth have received awards for educational excellence locally and at the state level. Before and since retirement, both have devoted many hours to community service. They volunteer time to plan and implement the Annual Back to School – Stay In School Program for low income youth sponsored by the Alton Branch N.A.A.C.P. They have developed future leaders through work with youth programs with Madison County Urban League, the 100 Black Men of Alton, National Council of Negro Women., and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. They both support United Way at the leadership level. Additionally, Len serves as a United Way Executive Board Member, Elijah P. Lovejoy Memorial board member, and board member of Affordable Housing Development Corporation.. They have mentored youth in various ways. Ruth has volunteered hours to present to preteen and teenage girls at church and with a 100 Black Men of Alton program, “Girls Learning and Developing.” Leonard has done both one-on-one and group mentoring of boys with the 100 Black Men of Alton, and the Illinois Adoption Center. He received training and certification by both organizations. Len and Ruth will soon celebrate 39 years of marriage. They currently reside in Foster Township, outside Alton, IL. Len is a lifetime member of SIUE Alumni Association and has served on the Alumni Board. They credit SIUE with being affordable, accessible and providing an excellent opportunity for higher education.
Nick and I met through a mutual friend, my roommate, Anne Ulrich (BS '00, MSED '02). She wanted me to meet him because she said he was so much fun. I did meet him but I had a boyfriend at the time. One year later, and single again, we became friends while playing sports for SIUE. I played volleyball and he played basketball. In my off season, I was a student trainer for the men's basketball team. After many ankle tapes for Nick's weak ankles, he decided to call me and ask me out. Despite our differences in NFL teams, me being from St. Louis and Nick being from Wisconsin, we started dating. After his graduation in 2003, two days before we moved back to Madison, Wisconsin for his career, Nick proposed to me at the Holiday Shores beach front in Edwardsville. We were married in May 2004 at St. Mary's church in Edwardsville. We have two beautiful girls, Maggie age 4 and Mallory age 1. We currently live in Wisconsin with hopes of moving back to our meeting place. Thanks SIUE!
Don Rice and Rose Anderson-Rice met at SIUE on January 2, 1990. Rose attended the University of Iowa but decided to visit her sorority sisters at SIUE when Don came by with one of his fraternity brothers to say hi to a mutual friend. After that day, Rose returned to Iowa but they talked day and night in between classes (which did not make their parents too happy after they saw the long distance phone bills). They also wrote each other like crazy. After the Spring of 1990, Rose decided to transfer to SIUE to be closer to him. Both served diligently as student leaders. Don decided to propose to Rose while walking down the streets of Tower Lake (now Cougar Village). He started by making Rose very angry by accusing her of saying something to her sorority sisters about his fraternity. He said, “Since I can’t keep your mouth closed maybe I should marry you." Rose stopped yelling long enough to reply “don’t play.” Then Don got down on one knee and proposed. They were married July 17, 1993. Both have worked for SIUE (Don as a Financial Aid Advisor, Rose at the Early Childhood Center) and served as Campus Advisors for their Greek Organizations. They have been in love since day one and that feeling continues today. Many have called them a role model couple. They reside in Florissant, MO and have been happily married for fifteen years. 
Dustin attended the SIUE School of Business in 1999 after being discharged from the United States Marine Corps. Stefanie started prerequisites for nursing school and lived in Woodland Hall in the Fall of 2000. Stefanie joined the Army ROTC and met many friends. One friend, Joshua Becherer, invited a couple friends, including Stef, over to his apartment off campus. Josh was Dustin's roommate. Stefanie, dating another ROTC cadet at the time, took notice of Dustin. Several months later, Stefanie received a message from her roommate that Josh had called and wanted her to call him back. Upon returning the call, she realized it was actually Dustin who had left the message. He thought that by leaving Josh's name, she would surely return the call. After a few casual dates they both knew they were meant for each other. They dated only two years when Dustin proposed to Stefanie. They were married in July 2003. Dustin changed majors and graduated with his Associates Degree in Nursing from Louis and Clark College in December 2004 and his BS in Nursing from SIUE in December 2005. Stefanie graduated with her BS in Nursing in December 2004. After graduation, both worked for Christian Hospital, Dustin in the ICU and Stefanie on Med/Surg, for a couple years when Dustin decided to join the military. Dustin was commissioned in the United States Air Force in April 2007 as a Lieutenant. They are currently stationed in Las Vegas, Nevada with hopes of returning home soon. They have two sons. Becker Kyle (named after the friend who introduced the couple) born in May 2005 and Sullivan Daniel born in August 2008.
Brett & Katie met during the Spring Semester of 2001 in Woodland Hall. Brett was a sophomore studying Construction Management and Katie was a freshman studying Nursing. Brett and a friend (Shawn) were walking about the dorm after being out at a party and stopped in the social lounge where Katie was studying to introduce themselves. They invited Katie to Brett’s birthday party the following week and Katie and her roommate went. They continued meeting from that night on going to parties in Cougar Village and watching movies in Brett’s room, and eventually started dating in February after a trip to Springfield, Illinois, to meet Brett’s parents and newborn nephew. Katie knew it was a true love connection the semester Brett helped her memorize all 206 bones of the body. They both graduated in 2004. Brett proposed to Katie in June of 2005 on the campus of SIUE. The couple married on May 6, 2006 at St. Boniface in Edwardsville. They currently live in St. Charles, Mo. Brett works for Paric Corp as a Project Estimator and Katie is a Labor nurse at Progress West. They have two amazing kids Mason and Alyvia. Brett and Katie are very thankful for all the friends they met at SIUE but most of all for meeting each other.
Lawrence and Kimberly met during Kimberly's first weekend of college her freshman year. She worked with Lawrence's previous roommate and he was constantly trying to get Kimberly to come out to his apartment to meet his roommate. Kimberly thought he was just trying to get her to come to his apartment for him. That weekend, two different people invited Kimberly to the same party, so she went with one of her friends. She walked in the door and saw Lawrence. He walked right up to Kimberly and said "It's my birthday are you going to tell me Happy Birthday?" So she did and walked away. Kimberly says she could not quit looking at Lawrence the whole night and he finally came up and started talking to her and they hit it off right away. He called the next weekend and said he was having a party and asked her to come out. Kimberly and Lawrence have been together ever since. Their first date was at the SIUE bowling alley and Taco Bell. On their first date, a guy walked up to them on campus and said "One day you will have beautiful children." Kimberly and Lawrence have been together almost 13 years and just celebrated their 8 year wedding anniversary. They have 2 beautiful babies, Logan 6 and Karley Jo 2, so the strange guy was right.
Rachel and Chris met through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Chris is from Kenya and arrived in the US in August 2004 for grad school. He joined Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and became an active member. Within one year, Chris knew Rachel and they became friends. They started dating during the fall semester of 2005, got engaged in 2006 and got married in August 2006. Chris works at AT&T Yellowpages in St. Louis and Rachel is back in school at SIUE. They are currently living in Cougar Village.
My story isn't about finding a love connection on campus, but instead the ultimate act of love taking place on campus. I graduated from SIUE in '05 with a B.S. in Bus. Admin. I love the school. The years I spent there were the best of my life. I lived in the dorms two years and met some amazing people. One of the things I love best is the beautiful campus. Three months after graduation I met the love of my life, Chris Bradley. 
Ed and Kim initially met in the fall of 1984 when she was a freshman on campus. Ed had been working full-time at SIUE for a few years. Some claim that Ed has always tried to be one of the most friendly and helpful people on campus. Being a transplant from Alabama and Auburn University, that’s just the southern way. Kim knew Ed only in passing. (Hi, How are you doing?, See you later.) Ed always says Kim appeared to be a woman on a mission as an undergrad. She graduated in 1988 and subsequently moved to the Washington, DC area for a few years. In the ensuing years, Ed came to know Kim’s younger brother, John, and younger sister, Stephanie fairly well. Kim returned to the area in 1994 and returned to SIUE to complete her MBA. During that time, she took a student job at the WSIE radio station in the Communications Building (now known as Dunham Hall.) Kim and Ed ran into each other again in the summer of 1995. They renewed their acquaintance by thawing out from their respective frigid offices during the lunch hour every day. At first, they waved at each other across the Quad. Eventually, Ed took the chance and joined Kim for lunch in the warm summer heat. They talked for weeks about everything from A to Z and gradually got to know each other. Over time, Ed suggested they go see a movie and go to dinner one day. They did and after months of dates and worst, Ed’s weird southern humor, he finally proposed to Kim in Harry’s Restaurant in St. Louis on September 1996. They were married February 15, 1997. They currently reside in Glen Carbon living a normal life with Ed’s Black 2006 Corvette.
Erica and Jack first met in August of 2002 in the engineering wing of Bluff Hall where they were both residents. When Erica moved in, Jack was in his second year and Erica in her first. She became friends first with Jack's roommate and then got to know him through his roommate. They would frequently watch movies and eat dinner together in the MUC. Neither of them showed interest in dating though. Jack was an Electrical Engineer major and Erica was a Civil Engineering major. They had a few classes together and helped each other with homework and studied together. If one of them had taken a class the other was taking, they would exchange notes. In July of 2005, they were both living in Cougar Village taking summer classes. Because many of their other friends had gone home for the summer, they spent a lot of time together. Somewhere in there they began to become interested in each other and started dating. They dated all through their Senior years and graduated together. They both got jobs in the St. Louis area after graduating. In June of 2007 they took a cruise together and Jack proposed on a nature hike to a waterfall in Dominica. They plan to get married in June of 2008 and currently attending grad school part time at SIUE. |
| Photo by Buddy Bartels Photography |
