Alumni Stories: Jared & Jenn

February is the month of love, and this month, we’re taking a different approach to our alumni stories—highlighting PCA graduates who met their high school sweetheart right here on campus.

High school sweethearts Jared and Jenn, both Class of 2007, first crossed paths at PCA during their junior year. What began as a simple act of curiosity—Jared sneakily turning off Jenn’s music in the library—quickly turned into a friendship that would change their lives forever.

Now, as PCA parents themselves, Jared and Jenn reflect on how their time at PCA shaped not only their relationship but also the foundation of their family.

Join us as they share their story—one that started in the halls of PCA and continues to this day.

Jared and Jenn, both of the class of 2007, met at PCA their junior year. Jared and Jenn share the story of how these two PCA alums knew they were meant for each other.

Jenn: “I moved from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire halfway through my junior year of high school because my dad had taken a new job in the area. I went to a larger public high school in Pennsylvania, but was excited to have the chance to go to a small Christian school in NH.

“Before we moved, we visited PCA, and the woman who gave us a school tour was Kathy Deame (director of admissions at the time). I remember her saying that she had a son, Jared, in my grade. Little did we know she would one day be my mother-in-law!

“Jared and I didn’t have any classes together our junior year, but we shared a study hall period.

“In mid-February, on my 17th birthday, Jared decided to introduce himself by sneakily turning off the music that a friend and I were listening to on headphones in the library. Once we realized it was him, he took the opportunity to introduce himself and wish me a happy birthday.

“Jared was more confident and open about his faith than any high school boy I had ever met. I was very impressed. I loved his humor and kindness.”

Jared: “Jenn seemed really sweet and instantly made lots of friends because of her kindness and easygoing nature. I didn’t know her name at first, so I had one of my friends who was in her homeroom do some reconnaissance and let me know. We started hanging out in groups because we had several mutual friends and also went to church youth group together.”

Jenn: “Jared asked me to prom our junior year and we began officially dating shortly after that. In our senior year we took Civics, math, and guitar classes together. Jared was already an excellent guitar player, but he took the beginners guitar class with me. Let’s just say he’s still playing and hoping someday I’ll join him! I also played soccer, and Jared was always there cheering me on.

“If we had to pinpoint a favorite memory—there are so many—we’d agree that sharing our junior and senior proms together were favorite memories from PCA. We had a great group of friends, and it was so much fun!

“We saw our relationship grow while we navigated school life, studies, and extracurricular activities while also having to figure out how to balance our time with each other, family, and friends. We had a good amount of time the summer before senior year to get to know each other so we were able to spend our time relatively wisely because we both valued our friendships and doing well in school. We were each other’s first significant other, so figuring out how to balance time together while also spending time with other friends and our family was something we had to learn. We learned from mistakes and gave each other grace as we figured out what it meant to be in a relationship.

“After we graduated PCA, I chose to pursue a degree in accounting at Cedarville University in Ohio while Jared studied psychology at Gordon College in Massachusetts. The long distance was brutal, but with cell phones and web cams, we made it through.

“The transition to marriage was inevitable. We were both on the same page after finishing our senior year at PCA. We chose not to put too much pressure on ourselves and didn’t seriously discuss marriage until later in college, but we were both fully committed to each other from the start.

“There was never a time when I did not see myself with him, even if I didn’t tell him that until years into our relationship.

“Meeting at school helped form the foundation for our marriage because we grew up a lot together. We got to experience so many life changes together and figure out how to navigate some difficult things in life before we were married.

“As far as PCA and friends playing a role in supporting our relationship as it grew, we were able to get to know each other and navigate challenges in a relatively ‘safe’ environment. Our shared Christian values and desire to follow Jesus were reinforced by PCA and the encouragement of teachers and other adults who we knew were in our corner.

“PCA provided a safe environment that upheld the standards Jared and I both respected. We appreciate that more so in retrospect. We were surrounded by teachers and friends who held similar values and standards, especially in regard to dating, which helped keep us accountable.

“Now we have two daughters at PCA and our mom continues to be a faithful employee. It’s been fun to tell our story to our two daughters and talk to them about what PCA was like 20 years ago. There are still memories we share and teachers we talk about.”