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On this Valentine's Day 2025, we celebrate BW's more than 2,000 alumni couples with another round of their love stories. Happy Valentine's Day!
It was kismet that Glenn Barrett '71 and Mildred "Midge" (McCullough) Barrett met on the BW campus.
Glenn, a political science major, was president of Lambda Chi Alpha. "Life during those days was a lot like the movie 'Animal House,'" he laughs.
That all changed during the last semester of his senior year when Glenn met Midge, a Pittsburgh native who attended BW as part of the Class of 1972.
Interestingly, their friends didn't think they were very compatible with Midge being the more serious of the two. However, Midge and Glenn knew better, and they would soon build a beautiful life together.
When Glenn graduated in December 1971, Midge, a junior, decided to leave BW with him. The two married in late 1972 and moved to Vermont. Glenn eventually went on to establish OrthoLite, Inc., a manufacturer of foam insole technology that revolutionized the industry and made OrthoLite a global leader in footwear.
Theirs is a true partnership that has blessed them with three children and five grandchildren. With a growing company and family, they now split their time between Massachusetts and Hawaii.
Over the years, they have remained loyal and generous alumni, with Glenn delivering BW's Spring Commencement speech in May 2024.
A chance encounter as Chris Callender '98 and Gina (Moss) Callender '97 walked to class proved to be the spark that would ultimately lead to a happy marriage and four children years later.
Chris was walking to his "Philosophy of Coaching" class while Gina was walking to Spanish class.
Although she was walking ahead, Gina slowed her stride so Chris could catch up. "I haven't seen you before. What is your name?" she asked.
The two began talking and found they had a lot in common, like being commuter students and being involved with BW's Black Student Alliance.
"As time went on, we kept running into each other," recalls Chris. They would stop to chat whenever they saw each other. Soon, they were grabbing lunch at the Student Union or the nearby Wendy's and working out together at the Lou Higgins Recreation Center.
Fast-forward to the present, where Chris and Gina often come back to campus to meet with students and share their experiences as part of the Black Alumni Network. The Black Alumni Network provides scholarships through the Black Student Alliance Alumni Scholarship Fund for Black students who need financial assistance.
"We want other students to be able to afford coming to BW, especially students of color," says Chris. "Black students often face greater hurdles financing their college education. We try to do what we can so those students can have an opportunity to reach their goals and be prepared for the future."
Meeting through mutual friends as BW freshmen, Emma Harding '16 and Jeanette (Hagerty) Harding '16, '20, could not imagine how their love story would evolve.
Emma, a sport management major and women's soccer team member, met theatre major Jeanette through soccer friends who stayed in Jeanette's dorm.
The two would run in the same circles during their time at BW, with Jeanette even becoming the resident assistant for Emma's Alpha Gamma Delta floor. At Commencement, they were only a few graduates apart in the line-up.
After graduation, they went their separate ways, with Jeanette working at BW's Community Arts School. Later in 2020, the pair were stunned to find each other on a dating app.
"It only took one message and an 8-hour-long first date for us to know that we wanted a future together," recalls Emma.
One of their first dates was an Easter egg hunt that took them around Berea and the BW campus. They married in 2022. For both, BW continues to be home.
"BW provided us with not just an education but a network of friends and professionals who continue to enrich our lives to this day on and off campus," Emma says.
They enjoy coming back to BW to support the theatre and music theatre departments.
"We plan to continue to support BW in the ways in which we can to ensure that all students have opportunities to take a step towards a fulfilling and exceptional experience."
In the fall of 2000, music composition major Clint Needham '04 was signing up for his trumpet seating audition at BW's Conservatory when he noticed Hillery (Lenz) Needham '03 , who was about to perform her viola audition.
"She was beautiful, and her smile was (still is) the type that lights up a room," recalls Clint.
The two became friends, but there was something more. His friends' playful razzing motivated him to finally ask her out, and by Halloween, the two began dating.
"As I got to know her, her drive and dedication to her goals impressed me, and I became more serious about my own studies and goals thanks to her," says Clint.
"In a short time, I knew this was the person I wanted to spend my life with, and lucky for me, she felt the same!"
Four years later, the two married. Today, their connection with BW continues, and they proudly call themselves a Yellow Jacket for Life (YJ4L) family.
Clint became a composer in residence and professor of music in BW's Conservatory while Hillery teaches the BW Middle School String Camp in the summer. Their three children are enrolled in the Community Arts School and attend the summer camps.
"BW is so special to us," says Clint. "It's where we met and started dreaming about our future together. It's where the foundation for our careers started. It's also where we made lifelong friendships with people that are still an important part of our lives."
For some, it is the small liberal arts university that draws students to BW. But for one family, it is the place where you find your spouse – three generations, to be exact!
While finding his future wife was not the goal for Scott Burnham '79, the idea of meeting one's spouse at BW was a familiar one.
His parents, Gordon Burnham '50 and Evalyn (Foote) Burnham '51, met at BW in 1948 and married in 1951.
His grandparents, Kenneth Foote '28 and Luisa (Heyl) Foote '29, reconnected at BW and married in 1929.
Scott had heard the story of how his parents met. His father came to BW after serving in the Navy during World War II, while his mother was a 17-year-old freshman from Brooklyn Heights, Ohio.
"They happened to be standing next to each other during a Day One social mixer for students new to campus and fell for each other immediately," he says.
His father even gained a memorable nickname during their courtship.
"My mother insisted that they not consummate their relationship until their wedding night, a demand that may well have been challenging for the ex-Navy man," laughs Scott. "My father willingly complied, which earned him the nickname 'Purity' from his Phi Kappa Tau frat brothers!"
When it was Scott's turn to attend BW in 1975 to study music composition, he wasn't expecting to meet the love of his life.
But in the fall of 1977, Scott met Dawna Lemaire '80 at the BW Conservatory, where she was studying music therapy and oboe. He was immediately smitten.
"She played in a piece of music I had been asked to compose for a performance of 'Peer Gynt' in the theater department, directed by Mary Ann Fruth," recalls Scott. "I knew right away that I was interested in Dawna, but she had another boyfriend at that time."
That relationship ran its course, and Scott and Dawna began dating.
Scott took some extra German courses during the year between his graduation and Dawna's so they could stay together in Berea. They married in 1980 and are now celebrating over 44 years of wedded bliss with three children.
All three generations treasured their time at BW, and Scott and Dawna have remained eager donors to the university. They most recently contributed to the Conservatory's Lynne and George Cherry Piano Scholarship.
