Earlier Augustana Viking Weeks Royalty Keep Rule With her since Married people

Pictured: Darwin and you may Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19 on their wedding during the Sioux Falls, inside (left) and you may John and you can Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94 to their big day within the Marshall, Minnesota, within the August 1995 (right).

You can’t spell “love” as opposed to Ole, as well as 2 Augustana College or university partners is actually research. Due to the fact previous Viking Weeks royalty, John and you can Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94 and you can Darwin and you can Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19, grabbed the titles out-of “queen and you may king” and became her or him to the “wife and husband.”

To the Oct. eleven, 1993, best friends, John and you may Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94, was entitled Viking Days King and you will Queen, much on their wonder. Adopting the coronation, John is actually cited from the Augustana Reflect saying the good thing of getting crowned king “is dealing with go every where with Shelly Knudson!”

“I do believe he was sort of flirting beside me while the he asserted that regarding the newsprint, to make sure that is actually rather simple,” Shelly chuckled.

Nearly 12 months for the date they certainly were crowned, John advised to help you Shelly. And you may, ten days afterwards, the latest Rocks were married.

The newest couple’s tale began within Augustana when you look at the 1990, when they was indeed both very first-seasons scholar-sports athletes – John, an effective Peterson, Iowa, native, are a basketball pro and you can Shelly, off . One another inserted AU’s chapter out-of Fellowship off Religious Athletes (FCA).

John finished you to springtime having a history biggest and you can secondary training certification, and you may Shelly stayed an additional year to accomplish the woman breastfeeding major. Into the October. 18, 1994, only per year and another times when they was crowned king and you may king, John is requested by the FCA to return so you’re able to Augustana and you can cam.

“It had been in addition to Shelly’s birthday, and i also took the woman in order to Minervas the downtown area,” John told you. “Upcoming, among my buddies lived in my dated dormitory room in Solberg (Hall), therefore i had her or him set it up, and i also recommended to Shelly for the Solberg.

The guy wanted to render elizabeth gazebo in which they been relationships

The couple had partnered in August 1995, when you look at the Marshall, Minnesota. The newest FCA praise band did songs into service, and you may apart from a few nearest and dearest and sisters, their main wedding party and you will customers have been made right up of Augustana alumni.

Today, almost thirty years once they was indeed crowned Viking Days queen and you may king, the happy couple stays in Peterson, Iowa, where John might have been providing to the loved ones farm if you are exercising rules because a controlling lover away from Rock Hutchinson, PLLP. Shelly is the manager director of your Bridge from Storm Lake, a positive youthfulness invention nonprofit ministry. The new Rocks have around three pupils, Joseph, 24, Lincoln, 22, and you may Caleb, 20.

Having almost three decades of wedding not as much as their devices, new Rocks told you taking and you can prioritizing each other are very important to one dating.

“Go which have humility, continually be happy to forgive and become thankful into the one that you get simply to walk through lifetime that have,” Shelly told you.

“Shelly is the same now since she ended up being in that she really links with individuals well,” John said. “She’s including not afraid to do stuff that would like to get over, thus she is really healthy in that way.”

One another Shelly and John said they’ve been grateful you to Augustana granted her or https://datingmentor.org/sugar-daddies-usa/nv/las-vegas/ him chances to build because some body, as well as assistance and you may reassurance.

For the 1994, a couple months shortly after Viking Months, John and you can Shelly generated its relationships formal

“It had been a superb college or university experience,” John said. “I experienced a superb studies, close friends and you may an excellent partner.”

When Darwin and you can Viking Weeks King and you can King, many thanks about audience was indeed loud as longtime pair presented having images, beaming at each and every other.

Brand new Garcia’s story began into the 2016, at the end of their first 12 months on s Office (IPO) Rendezvous in which Darwin is offering a speech on the his family country, Honduras. Just after training they had a mutual friend, the 2 began to speak and plan study times. However, the end of the brand new academic 12 months intended Darwin perform go back home to help you Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for the june, and you can Julie in order to Yankton, Southern Dakota. It reconnected throughout the slide, and a few months after, Darwin got a shock.

“I grabbed the woman for a walk, therefore we prevented regarding the gazebo because of the Management Strengthening,” Darwin told you. “I experienced my pal drop-off certain cupcakes in my situation one said, ‘Could you be my personal spouse?’”

Julie recognized, and 36 months and plenty of studies dates after, the couple graduated off Bien au from inside the 2019. Darwin is actually a good physics and you can mathematics double biggest, and Julie was a breastfeeding significant. Just after graduation, they moved to Rochester, Minnesota, in which Julie was a registered nurse at Mayo Medical center Disaster Service, and Darwin try a Ph.D. candidate within Mayo Medical center Scholar College or university away from Biomedical Sciences.

Inside the , Darwin had various other treat. He’d a professional photographer and you can friends happy to help him eliminate it off. Upcoming, the fresh pandemic hit, and you can Minnesota is actually toward lockdown. While the Julie try coping with patients with COVID-19, the couple decided it absolutely was ideal to not travelling.

“I created good scavenger seem, and that i informed her it actually was a grad school activity that I desired the woman to try out,” Darwin said. “They added this lady to a gazebo in the city in which I got photos hung-up and you will cupcakes again, but now they said, ‘Will you marry myself?’”

“I am particular troubled exactly how clueless I happened to be, including, I really didn’t come with suggestion,” Julie laughed. “I really don’t think about a single keyword the guy told you, it is actually most special the length of time and energy the guy placed into it. And you will, brand new cupcakes brought it full circle, that was extremely nice.”

The couple tied the knot in Sioux Falls, to your , a party Julie known as each other “an excellent Latino-Midwest fusion matrimony” and you will “a knowledgeable date ever.” The wedding – a beneficial Lutheran and you can Catholic services mutual – is actually loaded with Augustana contacts. Fr. Kevin O’Dell, AU’s former chaplain, did the fresh new Catholic portion of the ceremony, and you may previous Teacher out-of Language Sam Ogdie translated the latest service having Darwin’s relatives, who was here off Honduras.

The brand new Garcias hope to as time goes on keep a wedding reception from inside the Honduras and then journey to among its islands due to their honeymoon. Until then, the couple is actually thankful getting Augustana taking her or him along with her.

“Julie finds contentment inside possibly the smallest of some thing and can extremely change my personal date – if the I am stressed and weighed down, she will be able to brighten my personal time together with her contentment,” said Darwin.

“In place of Augie, there can be probably not a way that people would have even found,” Julie added. “Very, our company is only most pleased for Augustana because in which more you will you to connection occurs?”