Together Forever: Met & Married and Bonded Besties
Bonded Besties by Sherry Richert Belul '86
Rachel Schroeder and I have been friends for 43 years! We met as freshmen at DePauw in the Bishop Roberts dorm in 1982.
I remember sitting in the hallway, eating popcorn with everyone on the floor. I instantly loved Rachel’s depth, emotional intelligence, and unique sense of humor. Even at that young age, she had a wisdom beyond her years. Rachel was always (and is still!) the friend I could talk to about absolutely anything!
We used to spend hours eating cinnamon twists and drinking coffee at a nearby restaurant (was it D+D’s?) or at Marvin’s eating burritos — always talking about relationships, spirituality, books, dreams, you name it. During our four years at DePauw, we truly supported one another through the ups and downs of growing up and navigating our way in the world.
Our college friendship easily survived her semester abroad in Strasbourg and also my year away — on the GLCA New York Arts Program followed study abroad in London. After we graduated, I got a summer gig as caretaker of that GLCA Brownstone smack dab in Hell’s Kitchen, 48th + 8th in Manhattan. I invited Rachel to come spend the summer and we had a blast.
From there, Rachel launched her career with the Airbus and created a beautiful life for herself in France. I went the other direction and built my life in San Francisco!
Throughout all the years in between, we stayed in touch via long letters, then phone calls, and then Skype and Zoom! Rachel is an incredible writer and photographer and I loved receiving handmade cards that featured her photos and stories from travels all over the world.
We’d see one another every half a decade or so when she was in the United States or when I traveled to Europe for my honeymoon in 2000. Even without seeing her in person frequently, I always felt deeply connected to her. However, what has really catapulted our friendship in a new direction is that we’ve seen one another FOUR times in the last three years.
I visited her in her art-filled home in Toulouse in 2022 and we also hopped in her car for an adventure in Barcelona. Then, in 2023, she and I spent a week in the French Basque Country — one of Rach’s favorite places in the world. Oh, my! She curated an exquisite vacation for us, including an ocean-front stay in Bidart and day trips to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, Espelette, Ainhoa, and more.
There’s nothing like sipping wine at sunset overlooking the waters from a balcony in Bidart with a friend of 40+ years with whom you can say anything at all and who simply “gets you.” Or, gazing up together at Gaudi’s Casa Battlo, adorned with red roses for Saint George’s Day. Or, sipping coffee as you walk the beautiful old streets of Toulouse, in search of the best vintage stores and friperies! (Speaking of thrift stores, Rachel still owns a beautiful vintage sweater she bought when we were shopping together at the Greencastle Goodwill!).
In January of 2024, when Rachel turned 60, she invited friends and family from all over the world to join her for a celebration in NYC. We came full circle and toasted with champagne in an amazing Italian-Asian fusion restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen! (Greatly cleaned up since the 80’s!)
While there, Rachel and I made a pilgrimage to the old GLCA brownstone at 48th and 8th and we reenacted a photo from the summer of 1986, taken on the stoop, just after we’d graduated from DPU.
Then, when I turned 60 last fall, she curated a wonderful trip in the Spanish Basque country, which included Bilbao and
Donostia-San Sebastian. We even got to take a short trip to Marseille to visit my son who is a teaching assistant there!
I can’t imagine my life without my friend, Rachel. She’s added so many layers of joy and thought-provoking conversation in to my life — all of it woven together with laughter, art, sunsets, and adventures.
Thank you, DePauw, for giving me a lifelong best friend!
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Donald McArthur-Self '90 and Kimberly McArthur-Self '90
We met freshman year at DePauw in spring of 1987, and began dating in the fall semester of 87-88. Our first date was to Torr's (which no longer exists), the intersection of US 40 and US 231. We were married at Gobin Church in 1993, and our reception was in the ballroom at the DePauw Student Union. Our 32nd anniversary will be this June, and last May we were at the commencement of our daughter Abby, '24.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Nancy Hasbrook Bennett '74
Bob Bennett '73 and I met at the Sigma Nu house in 1971 and have been together ever since, recently celebrating our 50th anniversary. The photo is us celebrating our 40th anniversary with a nostalgic return to the scene of the crime (now the Robert G. Bottoms Alumni and Development Center on Seminary Street).
************************************************************************************************
Bonded Besties by Jennifer Allen '03
I could write a book about my DPU 2003 ride or die besties, Renita (Leichty) Marjan and Professor Sarah Mordan-McCombs. As students, we were friends and sisters (part of the last pledge class of Alpha Omicron Pi) and roommates.
As alumna, we've seen each other through the highs and lows of life - from love, marriage, and children to the loss of loved ones. Despite the miles the keep us apart (I live in Milwaukee, Renita in Chicago, Sarah in Greenwood), we remain close and we have traveled as far as Hawaii to spend time together.
You can tell our story of a lifetime just in pictures of the three of us. We have an unbreakable bond and I know we'll be causing trouble in the nursing home someday, still laughing about our DePauw antics and all the years in between.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Jared McKinney ’16 and Rachel Amalfitano ’16
We met freshman year thanks to Rachel’s BR3 bestie, Ciera. We’ll be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary this summer with our sons, Ezra (2) and Dean (4 months). We’ve been coming back to DPU over the years for Monon and Reunions. We’re truly blessed to have so many great forever friends from DePauw!
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married - Robin Hutton Labus '20 and Matt Labus '19
Matt and Robin Labus met at DePauw in 2018 at the Fluttering Duck during a classic Wednesday night hangout. Less than 4 years later, they were married on July 1st, 2023. They also welcomed their son, and future Tiger, Archie in May of 2024. Depauw truly gave them the great gift in life - a family!
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Sam Leist '14
My wife (Dr. Kelly Blair, DPU '14) and I met freshmen year at DePauw and we were married in the Bartlett Reflection Center at DePauw in December 2024. We now live in Chicago and just had our first child, Aubrey.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Nate Ulery '00
We met during freshman orientation at a showing of Mr. Holland's Opus at the Julien Center and ended up hanging out with other freshmen that evening. As the evening drew to a close, we ended up walking back together since she lived in Rector Hall and I lived in Mason Hall. After we spent an hour in the quad talking, Kristen figured out I was too clueless, insecure or nervous to ask her out, so she asked me to the all campus party that weekend and we've been together ever since. During rush, we ended up joining greek houses across the street from each other (Sigma Nu and Alpha Omicron Pi) and dated all four years of our DePauw experience so our friends only know us as a couple. As soon as I got my letters at Sigma Nu, I lavaliered Kristen and ended up in Bowman pond as a result.
When I was away on my Management Fellows internship, I flew back to campus for Kristen's sorority formal and proposed to her during the dance. We promised our parents we wouldn't get married until after we graduated and we kept that promise -- by getting married seven days after we walked the graduation stage on the East College Lawn. This year, we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary -- and just about a week later we will be back at DePauw for Alumni Reunion Weekend. Our 15-year-old son will be coming that weekend for his first visit to campus and he has expressed interest in becoming a third generation Tiger. In addition to his parents, his grandfather, Kent Ulery ('72) also is an alumnus.
************************************************************************************************
Bonded Besties by Kathy Haynes Guiliani '77
This is my best friend from high school, Lu Michel. In 1973 we graduated from high school and excitedly packed for our upcoming adventure at DePauw. We were both fourth floor Rector girls, as requested. We both pledged Alpha Gamma Delta. We were in each other’s weddings and had children the same ages. Lu became a beloved school librarian, and I became a teacher. We eventually became grandmothers and “ladies that lunch.” We would have continued to ride off into the retirement sunset, with more time now for fun, but Lu (Louie) suddenly passed away nine years ago. Her passing left a huge wake among her huge circle of friends and her family. I am grateful for my memories, many of which include our days at DePauw. She was a special lady.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married - Maynard Poland '57 and Elly Rapp '61
Maynard Poland, DPU '57 met Elly Rapp, DPU Nursing, '61 in the emergency room at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, and were married in 1962. Last October they celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary, and this February will celebrate their 62nd Valentine's day, completely able to do so with a glass (but not much more) of champagne.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married - by Ty Snouffer '93
We met at DePauw in 1989 when we were both freshman and became good friends, spending time together at informals and formals all four years. Fast forward 11 years and we found ourselves dating long-distance between Chicago and Cleveland, OH. In 2002, we were married and celebrated with our family and many of our closest DePauw friends. Today, we are thrilled to return to campus with our daughter, Kate, who is a DePauw Tiger enjoying Greek life, DJing at WGRE, and playing percussion in the music program! We love telling our DePauw story and remembering those early days. Who knew?
Miriam Cleveland, Class of '93
Ty Snouffer, Class of '93
Kate Snouffer, will graduate Class of '27
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Ray Webb '16
Cami and I met at track practice in the spring of 2015. We both ran the 400 meter dash, which meant that we trained together all the time. Running together lead to lifting together which turned into dinner and then eventually “studying” too. We became inseparable and eventually married in the Downtown Indianapolis Library in the fall of 2019.
Shortly after, we were lucky enough to both be accepted into graduate school at The Ohio State University, where we welcomed our tiger cub, Tolley into the world in October of 2023.
We are so thankful for DePauw XCTF for bringing us together.
Roll Tigs!
************************************************************************************************
Bonded Besties
We met pledging Delta Delta Delta, 2 Hoosiers, a Michigan native and a Cali Malibu Barbie! Through all the college years of study abroads and study in the dining room, late night Mama Nunz and Marvin’s deliveries to 500 Anderson St, study breaks at the Hub, the original FaceTime at Roy O, Toppers shenanigans, boyfriends and breakups and friendship lasting longer than the boys we liked, we fast forward to 40+ years of friendship that continues to get us through the ups and downs of raising children and husbands, Covid Zooms, DePauw reunions and girls’ trips to fun locales, new jobs and old jobs and now retirements and new gigs as a grandmother, we have built the strong bonds that have tethered us together all of these years! We call ourselves the ‘Foxuous Quattro’ and we’ll be each others’ ride or die until the very end! Ellen Johnson Fishel '87, Kristi Ker Bruton '87, Carrie Beth Lunsford Correll '87, Teryn Price Gilmore '87 (and special guest and dear friend Dennis E. Bland '87!)
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by Nataki Pettigrew '96
Our DePauw love story began in 1996 in an unlikely place -- a physical education class. Jason, known across campus as 'Diesel' for his standout presence on the Tigers Football Team, surprised me with the ultimate college romance question: "When will you let me take you to Red Lobster?" His charismatic smile and empowering presence were well-known, but it was our intellectual connection that truly sparked our romance. We'd spend hours on the bench outside Lily, diving deep into discussions from Rabbi Joe's class and debating current events. It was on that same bench where we both knew we'd found our forever. Twenty-nine years later, we're still those DePauw sweethearts - now parents, partners, and forever grateful that a simple PE class brought us together. And in a beautiful full-circle moment, our son Jason II is now headed to DePauw to write his own chapter in our family's Tiger tale.
************************************************************************************************
Bonded Besties
Jody Tweed Gullifor '81 writes that the Class of 1981 "Bonded Besties" still get together regularly.
************************************************************************************************
Met & Married by John W. Busey II '90
Maribeth '88 and I didn’t date at DePauw yet were connected by a mutual friend in Chicago, and the rest is just AMAZING 🤩 Together since our first date 1/7/93 experiencing "Miss Saigon." Now we are living our best life each day in Racine, Wisconsin.
***********************************************************************************************
Bonded Besties by Mary Catherine Roberson '10
I’ve been watching your bonded besties series, and I wanted to share my Bonded Bestie story. I transferred to DePauw University as a junior. I was pregnant and I had a one-year-old. I’m attaching the article in The DePauw that was written about me and my family. I’m also sharing a photo of us on the Boulder in 2009 and on the Boulder in 2022. I raised my “bonded besties,” but it all started on DePauw’s campus. So thankful for the opportunity to be able to attend such a prestigious school and to set such an example for my children. Also Marvin Long of Marvin’s is my grandpa. ❤️ I currently serve as Director of Constituent Services for Congresswoman Robin Kelly from Illinois Second Congressional District. It all started at DePauw.
