Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
There are always a few common ingredients to the romantic recipe for love. Especially at Creighton.
But each couple has their own serendipitous moment — a special conversation, date or experience that’s unique to their story. When everything aligned so perfectly, and unexpectedly, and wonderfully that it would not have been possible without Creighton.
Study aboard trips to Ireland. A shared flight home after break. A student’s courage to deliver a love note. Another’s bold invitation to meet at the grocery store.
Thanks to Creighton, these alumni discovered a connection in the most unexpected places. And now they have a story to tell.
It’s our most popular alumni feature, just in time for Valentine’s Day: Alumni Love Stories!
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Your footprints on my heart
Heather (Roeber) Reardon, BSCHM’95, and John Reardon, BSPHY’91, DDS’95
John was amazing and Heather was in love. But she hadn’t told him. He didn’t know. And they’d soon be leaving campus to start their careers.
She decided to write it down in a card. Everything.
The envelope read: “Some people come into your lives and leave quickly. Other people leave footprints on your heart.
But would she actually deliver it to John? Was this a little crazy? Her friends suggested maybe to not go through with it.
Heather and John did spend tons of time together over the years at Creighton — going to parties and events, or hanging out at the Blue Jay Bar. But they didn’t date. And they barely saw each other actually on campus (John was a dental student). Plus, John had a longtime girlfriend throughout most of school.
Their first meeting was totally by chance and incredibly nondescript. Heather’s friend once told her about a buddy who’d been mugged, and it happened to be John, and she randomly introduced them outside the Kiewit Fitness Center one day.
But by graduation day, Heather knew it: John was the one.
So, she delivered her love note.
Three days later, Heather and John were rollerblading together for their first date. They got married five years later. Today, they live in Minnesota — their daughter, Natalie, is a junior in Creighton's College of Arts and Sciences.
John did save Heather’s card. For a while. Neither are sure where it is now.
But the story, the card’s message and the lesson were unforgettable.
“I’d never taken a risk like that before,” Heather said. “But it was worth it. It’s always worth it.”
Love at first bite
Lauren McDonald, BSN’13, and Colin McDonald, BA’13
Back on campus after taking fall service trips, with lots of stories to share, Lauren’s twin sister, Jennifer, decided to set up a friends’ dinner.
It would be her and a friend she’d met through Creighton’s Cortina Living-Learning Community. That friend ended up inviting his roommate, Colin. So, Jennifer told her sister Lauren to come.
Burgers and fries, and (since they all went on separate service trips) tons of thoughts on their incredible experiences giving back to communities across the country.
Just a casual hangout at Five Guys.
“I definitely don’t think Jennifer anticipated that I would end up marrying the roommate!” Lauren said.
But Colin had a great smile. And he was a good listener. And the next week, Lauren and Colin met up at a friend’s Halloween party and spent the whole time together.
Soon, they were volunteering on the same service projects, sitting next to each other at Mass and going together to all the Greek-life events (including date nights and formals).
They married in 2015, with many of their Creighton friends standing alongside them as bridesmaids and groomsmen. They now live in Columbia, Mo., with two kids, Natalie and Carson.
The votes are in: Love wins!
Aunum Akhter, BS’12, MD’17, and Michael Redmond, BSMTH’11, MSEDU’13
Back in 2010, Aunum and Michael were chatting for the first time in the Hixson-Lied hallway as they awaited the results of their service fraternity’s election. Alpha Phi Omega was picking co-Vice Presidents of Service.
Little did they know, but that would be their moment. A successful election meant they’d be spending time together organizing and attending service events at places like the Children’s Museum and they’d be hanging out with mutual friends over the next year. They’d wind up in each other’s lives for the next 15 years.
Good thing they both got elected!
They both kept pursuing more education after finishing up their undergrad degrees — Michael completed the Magis Catholic Teacher Corps program and taught in South Omaha and Aunum went on to Creighton medical school and a pediatrics residency. Despite the long hours of studying, they both loved playing games together and fueling their very competitive natures.
Michael and Aunum married in a three-day Omaha wedding in 2017, taking pictures in the old Jesuit Gardens along the way. Their relationship saw miles of long distance over the past decade, but they now find themselves in Iowa City, Iowa. Aunum is a neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital and Michael teaches business analytics, and they are both happily chasing around their 1-year-old daughter.
Shopping for love
Nicole Petrykowski, BSN’16, DNP’22, and Marc Petrykowski, BS’16, BSN’19
For two years, Nicole had her eye on Marc as a friend she wanted to get to know better.
But the timing just never quite worked.
They’d met as freshmen during an outing at a trampoline park. But they didn’t get to chat much.
They had the same theology class as freshmen and studied together. But by the end of the semester, they went their separate ways.
Then Nicole had an idea: She knew they both grocery shopped at Trader Joe’s — why not go together?
Their chats through the aisles soon evolved into dinner dates, where they made meals, shared laughs and started to fall in love. Neither quite knows when all their meetups eventually shifted to an official dating relationship. Nicole’s parents came to town one evening, and they met Marc, so that’s the moment of significance they remember most.
So many memories followed, including Marc’s idea for Nicole to adopt a dog during the latter stages of completing a nursing degree. “It was a learning experience to say the least,” Nicole said.
They married in 2021, celebrating the day with lots of Creighton friends. Nicole's freshman year roommate even became the godmother of their son, Luke. They now live in St. Louis.
I left my heart in ... Ireland
Halley (Holmes) Hogan, BS’08, and Eoin Hogan
Halley didn’t even know Ireland was her preferred study abroad choice until she suddenly blurted it out during a meeting with her advisor.
Ireland!
In that moment, it felt right.
And two weeks into the trip, Halley found her soulmate.
She met Eoin (pronounced Owen) at church and the Ireland native immediately made her feel at home. He showed her the sights — they camped in Killarney, road-tripped around the Ring of Kerry and took in beautiful scenic views overlooking Lough Derg.
It was an incredible semester that ended with uncertainty about the new couple’s future. But things eventually worked out.
“We stayed in touch, and over the course of five years we grew apart, came together, and fell in love again,” Halley said.
Halley and Eoin married in 2012 and then moved permanently to Ireland. Their family, which includes three children and a puppy, lives three minutes away from the church where they first met.
“Creighton gave me so many opportunities to go out into the world and experience new things and interact with different communities,” Halley said. “On a trip back to the States in 2023, I was able to take Eoin and my boys to visit the campus. It was the sweetest full circle moment, and I'm proud of the time that I spent there as a Bluejay.”
Now boarding, for love
Samantha (Wong) Salas, DDS’22 and Jared Salas, DDS’22
Heading back to Omaha for his second semester of dental school, Jared stood in line at his gate in Denver to board a plane.
That’s when he saw a fellow dental student.
Samantha! He waved, and she smiled.
They’d chatted a few times during that first semester. And as coincidence would have it, they were on the same flight back to Omaha. They took advantage of Southwest’s open-seating policy and shared a row for the next hour.
They talked. They laughed. They connected.
They soon had their first date at Coneflower Creamery. The next three years, they were together often as they completed their dental degrees, growing closer and falling in love. They both graduated from the School of Dentistry in 2022 and were married in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two years later.
“We made so many great friendships at Creighton — it really allowed us to feel supported while continuing to grow our own relationship,” Jared said. “And while dental school was really tough, it prepared us to be great general dentists and the perfect husband and wife to each other.”
Luck of the Irish
Jillian (Phillips) Sparks, BA’11, and Ryan Sparks, BA’11
You would think two English majors sharing the same campus would have crossed paths right away, but it took two years at Creighton and a faculty-led study abroad trip to Ireland before Ryan and Jillian met in the summer of 2009.
The two got to know each other exploring the Emerald Isle and sharing pints at pubs where Kings of Leon played on repeat.
When they got back to campus for the fall semester, the class group planned a reunion at Brazen Head Pub, but Jillian didn’t have a car. Thankfully, Ryan did. That ride share led to a shared life.
Together for 16 years now and married for 11, their love story began in Dublin and bloomed in Creighton Hall as they read medieval romances and romantic poetry.
The two married at St. John’s Church in 2014 and moved from Iowa to Ontario to Minnesota and now finally back to Nebraska. After working as a special collections librarian for 10 years, Jillian is now a professor of Library Science at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Ryan is the editor of the Quail Forever Journal. They both continue to use their Creighton English degrees every day.
A match made in Hilltop Heaven
Connie (Ravlin) Lauvetz, BSN’92, and Larry Lauvetz, BA’91
Larry called, and Connie promised to call right back. Nearly a week went by. He was supposed to be her date to an upcoming formal. He hadn’t heard anything.
But he had assurances from Trish.
It was Trish who introduced them in the library. Larry was sleeping — [cough] studying! — when Trish and Connie both walked up. Turns out, Connie and Larry had a lot in common. Their families and friends were intertwined. They were in a couple of classes together and they had started spending some time hanging out at the student center.
So, when Connie did call Larry back, more than a week after Larry called her first, he felt confident enough to play it cool.
A date to the formal? He teased that he needed eight or nine days to get back to her. He joked that he had a special hair-washing ritual planned and couldn’t attend.
“Real funny, yeah… real funny,” Connie said with a laugh, as she recently retold the story. “He’s been full of jokes ever since.”
Connie and Larry did go to the formal together. They were officially dating soon after. They married in September 1993 and eventually settled in Kansas City, where Connie has worked at St. Luke’s Hospital for more than 30 years while Larry is the president and partner of Mental Health Resources.
One of their kids, Caleb Lauvetz, BS'20, ended up attending Creighton, which meant Connie and Larry often made time to visit some of their favorite sights on trips up to visit. Their first formal together took place at Barrett’s. They had more than a few lunches and dinners together at the Bohemian Café. Their wedding took place at St. John's Church (and both of their boys were baptized there), and they had their reception at the student center, so every trip to back to campus is meaningful.
Larry’s dad, Frank Lauvetz, BS'40, MD'41, and grandfather, Joseph Lauvetz, MD'05, also went to Creighton.
“It’s cool to have this kind of history with my family and Creighton,” Larry said. “That campus means a lot to us.”
