After graduating and getting married to my husband Chris (’87), we both took jobs at the university. Part of my compensation was living in an apartment on campus. The apartment was in Jacobs Hall (which, of course, is a men’s dorm), with one door leading out to the little alleyway by Redwood and another leading into the dorm itself. One night, after facilities had emptied out the storage onto the back lawn for it to be taken away the next morning, we were lying in bed. Suddenly, in the window, I saw a bright orange glow. Someone had set it all on fire! The alarms started screaming, so we fled out through the outside door. I was mortified. Surrounded by a whole dorm full of men in the rain, there I was, the only woman, standing among them with just a raincoat over my pajamas. Living in Jacobs was a fun experience. An interesting experience, yes, but fun just the same!
During those years, as we started new jobs and a new marriage, being on campus was so special. We experienced real community with the students and other faculty. When our son Joel (’17) was finishing up here at Ashland, we made sure to make space for his friends and other students to experience the same level of community in our own home. This level of shared experience is really incredible: no matter when you were here, Ashland continues to bind us together.
