Lovers at CMU

Story by Breanna Prince

Even though Valentine’s Day has passed, February is still a way to express your love for one another. CMU students share their love stories, as they grow their love for each another.

Julie Rock and Mitchell Gritter have been together since June 17, 2023. They met through Cru, a Christian organization on campus, and had mutual friends who introduced them to each other.

What was your first impression of each other?

Rock: I thought he was really funny and sweet. He’s very outgoing which intimidated me a little, but I knew that I really wanted to be friends with him.

Gritter: At the time I was trying to put her face to a name, and it wasn’t between the two semesters that I saw her and put that name to her face and was like “ok ya.” I just got out of another relationship, so I wasn’t looking for anything at the time.

What is your favorite thing about each other?

Rock: His love for the lord and how genuine and kind he is to all the people he meets.

Gritter: How well she is with kids. She’s a teacher, she likes younger kids and like her.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

Rock: Just sitting and talking on the drives back and forth to his parents’ house, and just the two of us having a meal together and chatting about our days and lives.

Gritter: Playing board games and card games, maybe playing a movie in the background.

Where do you see your future with your relationship? 

Rock: Marriage in three months. Then we are both planning on interning with Cru for like two years.

Gritter: I am going to marry her.

If you could tell each other anything, what would it be?

Rock: I wish there was a way that I could tell him how much he means to me, and how much I really love him because I feel like words are not enough sometimes.

Gritter: That I love her.

Jack Ecker and John Schultz have been together since December 9, 2022. They first met briefly on campus but started talking after on a dating app. Their first date was at Blaze Pizza, where they sat and talked for hours.

“I still have the IBC Root Beer cap from that night,” Ecker said. “It’s a small thing, but I have kept it as a reminder of how it all began.”

What was your first impression of each other?

Ecker: I fell for him almost instantly. There was just something about him that pulled me in. He had this quiet confidence, this warmth that made me want to know everything about him. From that very first conversation, I knew he was someone special. I was right. He’s someone special.

Schultz: That he was cute and I thought it was cool that we had similar interests.

What is your favorite thing about each other?

Ecker: How much he supports me, even when he does not realize he is doing it. Whether it’s encouraging me when I am feeling stuck or just being there in the quiet moments, he has a way of making me feel like I’m not alone. He believes in me, and that means everything.

Schultz: I can tell that he cares about me and he always does his best.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

Ecker: Watching RuPaul’s Drag Race has become our thing. I have been a huge fan since middle school, and when we started spending more time together, I introduced him to it. At first, I didn’t know if he would get into it, but before long, he was just as invested as I was. Now we watch every season together, talk about our favorite queens, and make a whole event out of it. It’s something that brings us closer, and I love that its ours.

Schultz: Have a chill day at home and cuddle.

Where do you see your future with your relationship? 

Ecker: I see us growing together, building a life we love. I see us moving in together, finding our own place, and creating a home that feels like ours. I see us thriving in our careers, pushing each other to chase our dreams. I see us getting married someday. But most of all, I see us always showing up for each other, no matter what.

Schultz: We are moving in together soon and I see a future where we get married and live a nice quiet life.

If you could tell each other anything, what would it be?

Ecker: I would tell him that no matter what, he has me. Through the good and the bad, through the quiet days and the ones that feel like too much, I will always be there. He doesn’t have to be perfect. He doesn’t have to have all the answers. He just has to be himself, because that’s the person I fell in love with, and that’s the person I will always choose.

Schultz: I would tell him how much I’m trying and how much I really care about him.

Bailey Ewen and Ben Meekoff have been together since April 4, 2021. They met through Ewen’s friend Lizzie. Ben and Lizzie have been going to church together, and occasionally Ewen attended church and youth group with Lizzie, where she eventually finds Ben.

What was your first impression of each other?

Ewen: Noticing how tall he was. I also noticed how energetic, funny, and nice he was to all his friends.

Meekoff: That she was way out of my league.

What is your favorite thing about each other?

Ewen: How comforting he is. He is always there for me when I truly need him and knows how to comfort and care for. Not only me but he takes care of his friends and family, he helps however can whenever he can.

Meekoff: That she makes me such a better person.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

Ewen: Ben and I love to be outside when it’s nice out, going on hikes, walks, runs, or just sitting outside playing card games or yard games. We also enjoy watching movies, we tend to enjoy comedy movies but shows best.

Meekoff: Go on runs with her.

Where do you see your future with your relationship? 

Ewen: I see Ben and I getting married and having a family together. We both have also talked about traveling and possibly even living outside of Michigan, most likely out west near Arizona.

Meekoff: I see the two of us getting married and having a family together.

If you could tell each other anything, what would it be?

Ewen: I love him so much and so proud of the man he has become. It is so crazy that four years doesn’t seem like a long time but so much has happened that has shaped him into such an incredible man. When we first met, he was 17, a junior in high school who just started driving and figuring out where he wants to go to college. To now being 21 a junior in college, a man who has grown so much in his relationship with the Lord, is pursuing his dream of becoming an engineer and figuring out adult life. I am so excited to see how he continues growing and can’t wait to also watch him accomplish his dreams.

Meekoff: I would tell her how I see her through my eyes and just how beautiful she is.