We met at graduate school in Richmond, Virginia ten years ago. Jay had been working at the school’s library when Kelli arrived from Ohio. Our romantic library story was off and running when Kelli walked into the library and asked if they were hiring.
We fell in love over our joint, deep connection to the library and the role we got to play in helping eager students to learn more about what they were studying. It only took a couple of months before we knew that we were meant to find each other.
Less than a year into dating, Jay, through mutual friends, got Kelli to throw him a “surprise” birthday party, but Kelli was the one getting surprised. Everyone but Kelli knew that this was in fact, a different kind of party. The library in which we fell in love was also the place that we got engaged surrounded by coworkers and friends. One year later, in a small church in Sidney, Ohio, we each got to say “I do” to our person, marking one of the happiest days of our lives.
After Kelli finished her graduate studies, we moved to Columbus, Ohio to be closer to Kelli’s family. After completing a chaplain residency at the Ohio State hospital, Jay began working for Lifeline of Ohio, an organization that helps all the people waiting for a life-saving organ find a match. Kelli is now a minister at a large local church. Both of us love the profound and meaningful work that we do, getting to live our values on a daily basis.
In our free time, we love to play with our cat, Lily, hang out with cousins, play games, watch movies and spend time together. Kelli enjoys reading, baking and cross-stitching, all of which she learned to love from her grandma. Jay enjoys running, singing, and being out in nature.