For Nicole Ellwood and Michelle McIntyre, marrying someone they went to school with wasn’t enough; they also work together after they graduated.
Ellwood married her husband Kyle on Sept. 21 in Delaware, Ohio. They got engaged on July 23, 2012 and were dating for four years before then.
The couple met when they both worked for an internship, Ellwood said. They are both working together now in Buckeye Valley Schools teaching 8th grade.
“It’s really exciting [to be a Falcon Flame],” she said. “It’s special to be able to come back to campus and go to Homecoming together, to know the restaurants to go to; it’s a really neat experience.”
Falcon Flames are two people who attended the University and get married either while they are students at the University or when they were alumni.
For McIntyre, who is a Falcon Flame, being one means to find someone to spend the rest of their lives with and being able to share the memories of being a Falcon.
“It keeps you connected to the University,” she said. “It’s a happy thought.”
McIntyre got married to her husband Jeff in September 1995. She graduated in 1997 and Jeff in 1998.
“We met when he was a bouncer at Howard’s,” she said. “We were both non-traditional students so it’s kind of neat, we got married while we were still attending the school.”
McIntyre and her husband work together as cooks for the University. Their son is a senior in high school and is looking to attend the University in the fall, she said.
Many Falcon Flames get married in Prout Chapel, the church located between University and Shatzel Hall.
Jeff Smith, coordinator of Event Services, said their office is responsible for reservations for the Chapel.
“For alumni coming back to campus, the chapel offers tradition for them,” he said. “It provides the perfect ability to come back and feel at home. Also it’s perfect for alumni who would like to come back for their special day and relive their college days.”
Missy Jakubowski, who graduated in 2007, met her husband Jon during a Bible study. They were both in the honors program and live in Bowling Green now.
“My roommate started going to the group and Jon was leading it,” Jakubowski said. “That’s how we met. We got married in July of 2008 and have a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old son now.”
She said it’s funny that they both share the same school and can share those memories and same group of friends.
“We both run together, so when we run through campus we just laugh at the memories,” she said.