Emily and Jason met when they were in band together in high school, beginning in the Fall of 2019. Though they officially first saw each other during marching band, they were on opposite ends of the "field" (Emily marched flute and Jason marched trombone), so they didn't see each other very often. Emily and Jason also played in jazz band together.

Jason found Emily on social media and started talking to her. The conversation that piqued Emily's interest in Jason (romantically) was when Jason texted her acknowledging her love of the Bible and letting her know he was a person who would love to talk about the Bible with her! Emily and Jason talked very frequently. One day that fall, Emily told Jason she had a keyboard she needed to get rid of and offered it to him. As Jason didn't have his license yet, Emily offered to drive to his house and drop off the keyboard (this was strategically planned ~ Emily). She anticipated it would be a quick drop off so she left her phone and purse in the car, but ended up sitting on his floor and talking for nearly 4 hours! Emily had worship practice for church that evening, but she would've stayed for 4 more hours if she could have. A couple of months later in November, Jason invited Emily over to his house for a game night with his family. Emily was extremely nervous, but ended up having so much fun and loved his family right away!

Emily had been scheduled to lead worship for the Christmas Eve service at her church and invited both Jason and her best friend (shoutout to her bridesmaid, Breanna!). Emily was really praying that something would happen that night; she and Jason can now laugh at her "strategies" to get him to hold her hand by saying many times how her hands were "freezing". After Emily dropped off Jason, he hugged her and she was absolutely ecstatic! She drove home as joyful as she could've been. When she got home, she and Jason were talking, and ended up confessing their love for each other that night! They hung out almost every day of the holiday break before school started again, finally as boyfriend and girlfriend.

After a summer of fun together, Emily had to leave for her first year of college at Ball State University. It was incredibly difficult beginning school without her best friend, but the two learned so much during their long-distance relationship and are now so thankful for it. Through this time of their relationship, Emily and Jason learned to prioritize and lean on God through their trials. They prayed together, read the Bible together, and shared their situations every chance that God provided. Through long-distance, God took away the temptation of idolizing one another and allowed them to not take for granted their time spent together. Most importantly, the time they spent apart helped them to grow in their relationships with God, and through that growth, growth toward one another. They learned to truly love and cherish one another through His love.

Jason began his first year at Ball State with Emily! And no, as you all are probably thinking, Jason did not attend Ball State for Emily. Emily felt God's calling to pursue music during her freshman year, which guided her to Ball State's renowned music program. Jason was also guided to Ball State to study music but was called to Computer Science with an emphasis in Cybersecurity shortly before the year began. They feel so blessed that God chose to lead them both to Ball State, though not for the reasons they anticipated. Emily ultimately decided to earn a degree in Speech-Language Pathology with minors in Spanish and Music Performance. God had a greater purpose for them at Ball State beyond just being students—they are now deeply involved in their campus ministry, Chi Alpha. Emily and Jason both are committed to the act of discipleship of students on their campus and to serving on the worship team.

Emily had been dreaming of becoming Jason's wife and anticipating when he would pop the question. She never expected it to happen over their Spring Break! Emily's friend, Breanna, had told Emily that she needed to get her nails done because she thought her boyfriend was going to propose to her (this was a ploy to get Emily's nails done, Breanna knew her boyfriend was not going to propose that week). Emily even talked to Breanna's boyfriend about his plans for the week, dragging him in on the secret! Emily suspected nothing, even when her mom suggested she and her sister Abby dress up for church to "take pictures". She went over to Jason's house for their weekly Sunday lunch and they watched Cars 2 together in the afternoon. Jason suggested they go take pictures together that afternoon! They walked past these two girls taking awkward photos and onto a covered bridge. Emily was pointing at the water under the bridge, pretending there were turtles. She turned around to wait for Jason to laugh at her unfunny joke, but instead turned around to Jason down on one knee, asking her to marry him! The two girls taking "awkward" photos were actually Emily and Jason's friends whom he had arranged to take pictures! Many tears were shed and according to Jason, she never actually said "yes" because she was in pure shock, but her reaction showed him her answer. Emily truthfully remembers little to nothing about that day except pure joy. Jason had arranged for both of their families to be there during that special day! After he proposed, they heard cheering and turned around to see their families running toward them in excitement to celebrate with them!