Union Students happy juggling work, school & marriage

It’s not unusual for couples to meet and marry while attending Union. One only has to look at the alumni pages of this very publication to see how many couples are both Union grads. 

What is a little different is when you meet your future spouse at Union, get married, and then return to the cam-pus to start your fresh-man year. But that’s just what happened with Kyle and Julie Riddle, fresh-men at Union. 

“We met here at Union between our junior and senior year in high school,” says Kyle, while they were both attending classes for Union’s Rising Senior program. The couple started dating almost immediately and after finishing the month of classes at Union, they continued to see each other on weekends with Kyle traveling to Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Julie visiting Kyle in his hometown of Louisville, KY. 

After dating only five months, Kyle proposed. After talking to Julie’s dad of course. 

“Both sets of parents have been re ally supportive,” says Kyle. The only requirement from Julie’s father, who is a pastor, was the young couple had to read the book, Financial Peace, by Dave and Sharon Ramsey. They were married seven months later, in June of 1999, two months before they started their freshman year at Un ion. 

Now serving as RA’s (resident advisors) for Warmath Family housing, Kyle and Julie handle the reaction of their peers well when when responding to questions about getting married so young. 

“When we first came to Union, during freshman orientation, we got a couple of weird looks,” says Julie, laughing. “A lot of the other freshmen would ask if Kyle was my boyfriend and I would have to say, ‘no, he’s my husband.’” 

“We know that we’re a younger couple, compared to the norm. But we also knew that we were in God’s will. This wasn’t something we jumped into, but some-thing we spent a lot of time in prayer and talking with our parents about,” says Kyle. 

And the Riddles continue to spend much time in prayer and trusting in God to supply their needs. Kyle, a Christian Studies major, serves as the youth minister at a local Baptist church and Julie also serves there as a secretary part-time. She has not yet decided on a major. 

Though the newlyweds are obviously very happy, their unique situation is not without its challenges. Both agree that finding time for each other is especially difficult. 

“My friends here at Union are pretty much all single,” says Julie, “and some- times it’s hard finding balance. They want to go out and do stuff, but I feel like I need to be here with Kyle.” 

When asked what advice they would give to other married couples still in school, both of the Riddles agree that making God first in their life before they get married is the most important thing. 

“If you don’t have God as your top priority before you get married, it’s going to be even tougher after you get married,” says Kyle. “Plus, you don’t want your lives to get so busy that you grow apart because you don’t take any time for each other.” 

Kathy Southall, director of residence life at Union, says that the Riddles are a wonderful example of a Christian couple. 

“Their personal relationship with Jesus is so evident. When they got married, I knew they would be twice as strong,” says South all. 

After finishing at Union, Kyle and Julie hope to go on to seminary and then work in missions, though they’re not yet sure whether it will be international or home missions. 

With three more year of Union ahead of them, they’ve got plenty of time.

Article by Sara Horn