Tag: Love Story

This is the story of Mac and Molly.

It is a love story.

Mac and Molly are mascots for the University of Mobile.

So, while their love story isn’t necessarily typical of all the college students who fall in love on this beautiful campus and eventually marry, there are some similarities.

Like Ram Rush.

That was the day Mac first noticed Molly. Mac was an upperclassman. He had been hanging around UM’s powerhouse NAIA athletic program and had started showing up at all the basketball games. He was such a big fan that he dressed in a basketball uniform every chance he could, which was pretty much all the time, since he was a rather large ram and it was hard to find clothes that would fit.

Mac was also super involved in student life, like the Student Government Association and Campus Activities Board, and all the organizations that plan the events that make being a college student at UM so much fun.

Events like Ram Rush.

Now, this is a good time to mention that rams are a big deal at the University of Mobile. It all started back in 1963 when the first freshman class was picking things like school colors and the name of the yearbook. They considered a lot of possibilities for a mascot – knights, saints, pioneers, bucks, elephants and falcons.

It is also a good time to mention that the University of Mobile is a Christian university, and faith is the foundation for everything they do, from the classroom to the athletic field. So it’s no surprise those students looked to the Bible for inspiration. Turns out, there are 44 verses in the Bible about rams. And rams are strong and powerful, which are good qualities to have in a winning athletic program. So a ram it was.

But we digress. Back to the love story.

Mac was a Ram Rush leader, which meant that he was in charge of a small group of new students known as a Ram Fam, short for Ram Family, that spends about a week going to orientation and events together.

When Molly showed up at the designated time at the designated place for the designated Ram Fam meeting, it was all over for Mac.

He was head over hoofs in love.

It took Molly a little while longer to fall in love. There were the traditional courting rituals, like meeting in the caf for their favorite lunch – fried chicken and mac & cheese. They sang in the choir together, over the years participating in both the Boar’s Head Festival and Christmas Spectacular. They had a few classes together in Weaver Hall, went on a few international mission trips, and spent a lot of time cheering on the university’s many athletic teams.

In fact, Molly became such a rambunctious Rams fan that she special-ordered a cheerleading outfit that coordinated beautifully with Mac’s attire.

But it wasn’t until one fateful afternoon that it became obvious to everyone that Mac and Molly were a couple.

They sat beneath an old live oak tree to talk, and it got everyone on campus talking. Because they sat in what students call “the love swing.” It seems that, more often than not, when a couple spends time together talking and swinging beneath that old oak tree, what they end up talking about is their future.  It’s about as close to a declaration of love as a marriage proposal, alumni say.

That’s been awhile back, and Mac and Molly seem to be happy with the current state of their relationship. Most times when you see Mac, you will see Molly, too – usually leading enthusiastic fans in cheers at a Rams sporting event. Marriage may be in the future, but word is they haven’t reached a consensus on whether to have the ceremony in Pharr Gym, at The Jungle soccer field, or on Mike Jacobs Baseball Field.

So that’s the short story of how Mac and Molly became a couple. It is possible this isn’t the true story. Like most good stories we tell, some parts are completely true, and some parts are somewhat true, and some parts are not true at all.

But it’s a nice love story for Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?

Even though they grew up living 30 minutes away from each other, Hannah and Dallas never officially met until they were both coincidentally placed in the same Ram Rush group.

Ram Rush is the term used for the University of Mobile’s freshman orientation. Through Ram Rush, new students are able to meet new people, take part in fun activites, and get to know their way around campus.

Hannah and Dallas’s friendship quickly blossomed as they discovered their shared passion for missions. Both were majoring in intercultural studies and attended many of the same classes together. Over the course of their freshman year, Hannah revealed to Dallas that she felt the Lord calling her to ministry in Asia. Dallas responded by telling Hannah that God was calling him to Central and South America.

“Because we were being called to different areas,” Hannah explained, “Dallas and I never dated because we didn’t want to interfere with the Lord’s plans.”

However, God works in mysterious ways and, during their sophomore year, Hannah and Dallas were chosen to lead a Ram Rush group together.

“She wasn’t even supposed to be my partner.” Dallas laughed. “The girl who was originally paired with me had to drop out at the last second, and Hannah was put in as a replacement.

Through this second Ram Rush experience, the two developed an even closer bond. This special relationship grew even deeper when Hannah began taking a Spanish course. The class drew Hannah into the Hispanic culture and allowed God to nurture within her a love of the people from Central and South America. It wasn’t long before she realized the Lord was calling her to minister to these people.

“There came a point when I started to refer to Dallas and I as ‘we’,” Hannah said, “But I wasn’t thinking in the context of a romantic relationship. I was more thinking along the lines of, ‘We can go to seminary together, fly to South America, plant a church and be neighbors!’”

These talks of future goals consumed most of their sophomore year together.

“We went to the same church and, after the service ended, we would stay up and just talk.” Dallas said, “Church normally finished at 10 p.m., but we would often find ourselves up till 4 a.m.”

One week in December, a few days before final exams, Hannah and Dallas were watching movies together when Dallas suddenly said, “I think we’re supposed to get married.” Hannah wholeheartedly agreed, and they both called their parents that night to tell them the news.

The couple became officially engaged in March of 2018 and were married soon afterward in August. Dallas’s father officiated their ceremony.

Hannah and Dallas have been married for a year and a half and will both graduate in May 2020. They cannot wait to see how the Lord is going to use them as they prepare for both the mission field and another task they both feel the Lord calling them to – becoming foster parents.

(Photos by Justine and Wayne Photography)

I remember sitting in a semi-circle trying to figure out if this was really where I wanted and needed to be. Everything was so new. I wasn’t used to the southern accents and I didn’t like the sweet tea at dinner. But I had accepted a spot in the Voices of Mobile, which landed me at a rehearsal camp in Alabama the week before my first semester at the University of Mobile.

Voices of Mobile is an amazing traveling vocal ensemble in the Alabama School of the Arts at the University of Mobile. It’s one of over 20 music and theatre ensembles at the Christian university. Being in Voices of Mobile changed my life in so many ways, giving me experiences I wouldn’t otherwise have had, like singing in the White House and traveling internationally.

But those weren’t the biggest ways it changed my life! Here’s what happened:

At this first rehearsal camp, UM music professors Dr. Roger Breland and Dr. Al Miller introduced a new song to us and asked all of the guys to try out for the solo. Everyone sounded pretty good, until this one really quiet freshman kid sang… he sounded really good. And that’s my first vivid memory of Andrew — hearing him sing and being completely blown away. (He got the solo, by the way.)

It wasn’t until our second year that we became really good friends. By the middle of the year, I was suppressing the random thoughts of “Maybe I like him” or “Maybe he likes me.” Why was I suppressing these thoughts, you ask? Because dating in the Voices of Mobile was against the rules. And this was no joke. Dr. Breland took it seriously, and I did not want to jeopardize my spot in the group I had grown to love so much. But, by the end of the year, I finally got courageous enough to admit to Dr. Breland that I “liked” Andrew Goodwin.

Dr. Breland traveled with the contemporary Christian ensemble TRUTH for 31 years and he had a rule back then that he enforced for Voices of Mobile. No dating in the group: “You’re friends, and then you get married. When you’re married, then you can look like you like each other.”

So, Andrew and I were determined to be “just friends” while in the Voices of Mobile.

“Friends” we were. When the bus stopped for lunch, he went to McDonald’s and I went to Burger King – just to make sure we weren’t spending too much time together on the road. It’s so funny to look back on now because, after we broke the “no dating rule” in 2007, the whole “dating in the Voices” thing became pretty popular. Including us, there are now nine married couples that started dating while in Voices: Andrew and Brittany Lowe, Michael and Tiffani Casey, Scott and Ellie Lawrence, Nick and Nicole Hardeman, Zack and Kirsten Phillips, JR and Josi Krivsky, Collin and Hannah Clardy, and James and Livy Collingsworth.

This summer, Andrew and I will celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary. We both began working at the University of Mobile immediately after graduation in 2010 and are honored to still be a part of the wonderful UM family. I serve as the director of production and administration for the Alabama School of the Arts. Andrew is a full-time UM faculty member and full-time Doctor of Musical Arts student at UM during the week. On weekends, he travels with Veritas, a vocal ensemble that got its start at the University of Mobile. We’ve also been privileged to help lead Voices of Mobile throughout the years. We both love what we do, but we really love who we come home to: our little girls, Riley, 3, and Audrey, 7 months.

I’m so grateful for God’s goodness which led me to the University of Mobile and Andrew in 2006. And I’m also grateful Dr. Breland didn’t kick us out of the Voices of Mobile in 2007!

Jacob and I have counted 15 times where he was persistent in trying to talk to me and I unintentionally gave him the cold shoulder.

It’s not that I didn’t like him. It’s more that I didn’t pay much attention to him. It wasn’t until that first cup of coffee that something clicked. Today, we are married, and I couldn’t be happier. Here’s our University of Mobile love story.

We first met when I was working at the University of Mobile in the Student Life office. Jacob came to UM to work as an athletic trainer and pursue his master’s degree.

I made his staff ID card on his first day, and I remember thinking, “Why is he wearing long sleeves in Mobile in August?”

After meeting that day, we began running into each other at so many different events. Looking back, it is comical that I never gave him a thought. We met at staff luncheons, intramural events, and so many other work-related settings.

Jacob began visiting the Student Life office more often and bringing me his maintenance needs or “questions about UM” regularly. He even thought it would be a good idea to text me about some homecoming events, simply to give him a reason to start a conversation. I sent him a copy-and-paste response. Cute, right? Following this, there were several more interactions that I never thought twice about.

However, my closest friends quickly picked up on the crush, which I continued to shut down until Jacob was bold enough to ask me on a date. I said yes. Fun fact: Jacob actually had to cancel on me because he had to work a soccer game. When his boss found out, he told Jacob, “Call her back; you’re going on that date.” So, we had a cup of coffee and we got to know each other a little better.

One coffee date turned into a second and third date. Jacob went home to Cincinnati for the summer and returned in August, serious about pursuing a relationship with me. We dated throughout that school year, and Jacob proposed one year to the day from our first coffee date together.

We have had a lot of coffee dates since then and, as I often remind Jacob, he is the most unexpected, but best thing that’s ever happened to me.