Are you a Chapman Sweetheart (a Chapman graduate dating or married to a fellow Panther alum)? Email your love story and photo to Deanna Blanchet \u201912\u00a0\u00bb<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n More than 800 Chapman Sweetheart couples are married and countless others are dating. Some met before coming to Chapman where the romance blossomed, while for others sparks ignited on campus in chemistry labs and on mock trial teams.<\/p>\n One thing is universal \u2013 Panther Pride seems to be magnetic, bringing couples together for lifetimes of happiness and adventure. To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year and our Chapman Sweethearts, we want to share some of their awesome love stories with you!<\/p>\n Eillen Badilla \u201915 and Julie Ford (M.A. \u201907)<\/strong><\/p>\n Eillen and Julie met online in early 2005. Julie had worked at Chapman for 17 years, also earning her master\u2019s from the university in 2007, and Eillen decided to follow suit. She earned her B.A. in sociology in 2015 and soon after began working as a children social worker for Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, and is a member of the Under One Sky Committee for California Conference for Equality and Justice. Julie started a new job around the same time in enrollment management at the California State University Chancellor’s Office. They both enjoy their roles as active members at First Congregational Church of Long Beach where they were married on June 14, 2014.<\/p>\n Ariana Burris (JD \u201909) Jason Burris \u201902 (JD \u201908) <\/strong><\/p>\n Ariana and Jason met in law school at Chapman in 2007. They kept their relationship a secret to avoid the \u201cdrama\u201d if discovered. But one night as they left school together, their professor James Rogan, judge of the Superior Court of California, spotted them. \u201cWell, well, well. Are you two an item?\u201d Ariana said he nodded in approval and walked away, \u201cbasically blessing\u201d their relationship. The couple married in 2012, welcomed daughter Cameron in 2016, and run Burris Law<\/a> in Orange \u2013 a firm staffed with many Chapman interns and employees. \u201cRunning our firm has deepened and broadened our relationship,\u201d Ariana said.<\/p>\n Charla DelaCuadra \u201904 and Jeremy DelaCuadra \u201904 (M.A. \u201910) <\/strong><\/p>\n Charla and Jeremy\u2019s love story begins in middle school marching band. They began as close friends and dated in high school, and married eight years later after college. They both decided to attend Chapman for its music program. \u201cI consider us to be very lucky to have grown in complimentary and parallel ways over our college years rather than grown apart,\u201d Charla said. Today they live in Old Towne Orange. Jeremy enjoys his job as band director in the Santa Ana Unified School District, while Charla is catalog librarian and archivist at the Huntington Library in San Marino. They perform with Symphony Irvine where they are also board of directors.<\/p>\n Pat Elliott \u201960 (M.A. \u201974) and Tom Elliott \u201960 <\/strong><\/p>\n Pat and Tom met on a blind date in 1957 while attending then-Chapman College. Within weeks, Tom left for the U.S. Army and was stationed in Iceland. Daily letter writing kept the relationship alive. \u201cYou learn a lot about someone by corresponding by letters,\u201d Pat said. A year later, proposed. They married two weeks later and will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in August. \u201cA lot of things have held us together,\u201d said Pat. \u201cCommitment, church and travel are the big ones.\u201d They started traveling across the world together in 1962 and have been to 72 countries together and are still counting.<\/p>\n Ami Garvin \u201998 and Jeff Garvin \u201998 <\/strong><\/p>\n Ami and Jeff met during Orientation Week at Chapman University in 1994. \u201cI was smitten,\u201d Jeff said. They dated during freshman and sophomore year, but lost touch after breaking up. Ami moved to San Diego to teach music and Jeff to Los Angeles to do \u201cthe film director\/actor thing.\u201d They ended up back in Orange County in 2006 as they were both going through divorces. A mutual friend invited them to a party, not telling them the other was coming. \u201cWe both left the party thinking, \u2018Hmmm, something\u2019s there.\u2019\u201d They were married two years later and now have two children together. They enjoy their creative lives together: \u201cShe\u2019s a music teacher; I\u2019m a writer and musician,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cThere are musical instruments all over the house. It\u2019s fun.\u201d They also appreciate their mutual love for Harry Potter. \u201cOne of my fatherhood highlights is reading Harry Potter to our son.\u201d<\/p>\n Cheryl McNabb \u201984 and Alan McNabb \u201984<\/strong><\/p>\n Alan and Cheryl met when Alan turned around to Cheryl in a science lab at Chapman, asking her what the professor was talking about. She did not answer him. \u201cI disliked him immediately,\u201d she said. And yet, they were married five years later. They moved to Washington, D.C., where Alan went to medical school and Cheryl attended graduate school and worked for the Environmental Protection Agency. Alan\u2019s service in the Air Force took them to Japan for three years, before they settled in the Sacramento area and had their two daughters, Brenna and Tara. \u201cThe best ways to keep a marriage going are riding a tandem bike together, putting Ikea furniture together and playing doubles tennis,\u201d said Cheryl, laughing.<\/p>\n Well-launched careers, memories and lifelong friendships aren\u2019t the only lasting treasures Chapman alumni come away with when they graduate. Many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":960,"featured_media":6146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[519],"tags":[520],"class_list":["post-6137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-love-and-panther-pride","tag-love-and-panther-pride"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Want to be featured in a blog like this, on social media or in Chapman Magazine<\/em>?\u00a0<\/strong>Share your news with us \u00bb<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHeader photo:\u00a0Alumni from Chapman\u2019s Fowler School of Law Ariana Burris (JD \u201909) Jason Burris \u201902 (JD \u201908) were married in 2012. Photo by Jeff Armstrong, who is married to\u00a0Alexandra Armstrong (JD ’09).<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"