It was late summer of 1991 and the Mount St. Joseph University campus was coming alive again, and new and returning students were moving back into their dorms ready for a new school year.
It was the first week of training for athletes. Summer was ending, and fall was just around the corner.
Gina and Paul were starting college for the first time. Despite both growing up in Cincinnati, their paths never crossed until the Mount. She was from White Oak and Paul was from Silverton. After all this time living in Cincinnati and never meeting, they finally met each other for athletic training week of their freshman year.
It was sports that ultimately brought the two to the Mount. After playing volleyball in high school, Gina wanted to play volleyball in college while staying in the area, and the Mount was the perfect place for her to do just that. Paul was a football player in high school with the goal of playing in college.
“We both went to the Mount for the small school feel,” Gina recalls, “and the ability to play a sport we dearly loved. We were able to have family support in the stands all four years, and that was really special."
Gina, an Education major and Paul, a Computer Science major were eager to embark on their MSJ journey. The incoming new students were meeting new friends and learning their way around their new University. Gina and Paul met during training week, finding time for conversations during their down time, and they quickly bonded over both being student athletes starting college. Training continued and then the school year started, and they continued to find time to hangout.
Their first date on September 7, 1991 went so well that it sparked a relationship that would continue for all four years of their time at the university. Throughout college, they supported each other by cheering on each other at their games. One of their frequented dates was going to Sawyer Point and walking around, or going to Taco Bell and other restaurants that catered to their small budget at the time.
They continued to date and adjust to college life. Together, they figured out how to balance school while also playing sports. Both of them would help each other out with each other’s homework. Gina would help Paul with his writing and Paul would help Gina with her Physics class. “[We experienced] a lot of the same challenges together,” Gina says. “It was nice to have another person to rely on for mutual support.” In addition to being student athletes, both Gina and Paul had part time weekend jobs, and they still found time for each other and going on dates amidst their busy schedules.
They also spent time with each others’ families. Gina recalls one time when she first met Paul’s parents. "His Mom gave us both lemonade canisters full of quarters so we’d have enough money to do laundry in the dorms, even though we lived close enough that we could come home to do our laundry when we needed to."
Gina knew early on in their relationship that Paul was the one. “Paul supported me through a lot, and our relationship was easy” she says. Eventually, Gina began to suspect that Paul was going to propose. She began to snoop in his desk drawers and in his car in hopes that she could find the engagement ring. On March 2, 1996, Paul proposed and Gina and said “yes!”
They got married on June 21, 1997, in the Mater Dei Chapel surrounded by their friends, families, and many MSJ alums. “Our goal was to get married, raise a family and keep close with family and friends, which we have done,” says Gina. Today, Gina and Paul live in White Oak with their four sons.
Their desire to play the sports they loved so much brought them together and started a lifetime together. From rooting for each other at their games, to getting married and raising a family, Gina and Paul have been playing on the same team ever since.
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