Eric '96 and Kristen (Teel) Taylor '98

Kristen and I met under unusual circumstances during the 94-95 school year. I had been planning a spring break road trip with three other Wildcats, and we were doing our best to keep our week-long Disneyland trip to a minimal cost. A friend, Luke Rauch, told me his girlfriend had a dorm mate who lived in Sacramento, which is where we wanted to stay on our first night heading south. Luke asked, and Kristen's folks were happy to host us. So we drove to Sacramento, met Kristen's family, and had a chance to get to know her better.

The next year allowed our friendship to grow before heading separate ways after college. It's a testament to the kind of strong friendships built at Linfield that we kept in touch via phone and an occassional visit through the 10+ years that followed.

One day we both found ourselves single and realized what our Linfield friends had seen years ago - that each of us were exactly what the other person needed in a partner. We were married in Linfield's Oak Grove on Aug. 6, 2011 - with several fellow Wildcats in the bridal party - and still treasure our Linfield connections and shared memories.