They say love can happen when you least expect it. That was certainly the case for these faculty and staff who found love while working at Elon.
“It was just one of those things we felt it was meant to happen,” says Emma Jones, a former study abroad advisor at the Isabella Cannon International Centre. “It was one of those crazy things that just came together.”
When Jones first met her husband to-be, Christopher Eyl, in 2002, she was not looking for a relationship. She was simply looking for an art designer in the Office of University Relations who could help her with a project.
Browsing the university directory, her eyes focused on “Eyl,” a name with which she was familiar.
“My all-time favorite teacher in middle school had that name,” Jones says. Intrigued by the possibility of a connection, she contacted Eyl, associate director of design for university relations, and asked him if he knew a Mrs. Kathie Eyl.
As it turns out, he did. “She’s my mom,” he told her.
Though the two did not start dating until a year later when another project brought them together, Jones says, the fact that Eyl’s mother was her former English teacher made it easier for their friendship to develop into something more. After all, it was Mrs. Eyl who taught her to appreciate writing, which led her to major in literature and mass communications later in life. It’s not surprising that the first time the couple went out together, it was to meet Kathie Eyl for lunch.
“That was kind of the beginning,” Christopher Eyl says with a smile.
“I remember thinking after we met, wouldn’t it be crazy if I end up with the son of my favorite teacher?” Jones recalls.
Three years after they started dating, that’s exactly what happened: the two married in June 2006.
That same month, Paul and Paula Weller, another couple who met at Elon, also tied the knot, though it took a trip halfway across the world to bring them together.
While they both worked at Elon – Paul as a chemistry professor and Paula as an accounting lecturer – and lived within 10 miles of each other, their paths did not cross until January 2005, when the two participated in a one-week trip to London for faculty and staff sponsored by the university.
“He was there and I said ‘who’s that guy?’” Paula recalls. “I was cutting up with him and we found we had lots in common.”
Recently divorced, Paul and Paula discovered they were born the same year and only children. They also had the same doctor, financial advisor and similar names.
“It was almost like fate,” Paula says. “We’ve got differences, but it’s uncanny how similar things are.”
By the end of the trip, the pair knew they wanted to see each other again. They switched seats on the plane ride home so they could sit together. Two days after returning home, Paul called Paula to ask her out. They married a year and a half later.
The Wellers credit Elon for bringing them together.
“There’s a random chance we could have met, but something would have had to help us cross paths,” says Paul.
The same is true for Lisa and John Keegan, who met the summer of 2003 while working in the Admissions office.
“I always tease John that there is no way he could have married a non-Elon girl as much as he loves this place,” Lisa Keegan says, adding that they might be the only married alumni couple currently working at Elon. John graduated in 1996 and Lisa in 2003.
The couple dated for two years before Lisa left for law school in Florida and continued to date long distance. They married in June 2008, six months after Lisa returned to Elon to work in the president’s office. John is now director of development for athletics.
Though Jones no longer works at Elon, she says it was neat working in the same place as her husband, adding that the hardest part perhaps was keeping their relationship secret until they were both sure it was serious. She says the university has become sort of a family affair for her since. Not only does her husband work here, but also her mother, Dianne Ford, who has worked as coordinator of serials and government documents at Belk Library since 2002.
Lisa Keegan says that though at times it’s challenging to work in the same place as her spouse, it also has its rewards.
“Our dinner conversation usually turns to Elon because we both work here. It can be tricky as I work in the president’s office and often know of initiatives before he does and I try to maintain office confidentiality of such matters,” she says. But, she adds, “It is advantageous because we love Elon and can attend many events together.”
By Sarah Costello ’11 and Keren Rivas ’04