UC alumni find the loves of their lives at UC

Shane and Jeff Rieder were both active in campus activities, Shane with her Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Jeff with his Sigma Nu fraternity. They have fond memories of date nights, including the “Double-Take Date Night,” in which they dressed up in coordinated costumes. Shane was a midfielder on UC’s women’s soccer team for two years, served on the Student Alumni Council and was elected senior class secretary.

Jeff worked his way through UC. “He was working a part-time job at Friday’s, then working a full-time job at Great American Insurance, paying for his living, his school, his books, his car," Shane recalls. "I admired that. He’s two years younger than I am, and I didn’t think I had my life together as much as he did. I really appreciated that about him.”

The AACRC was important to both Chanel and Mitchell Phelps, who came to UC from northern Ohio and began dating in 2016.

“The AACRC was a blessing in disguise,” Mitchell recalls. “It was something I never thought I would need, but it turned out to be one of the most impactful programs of my collegiate experience.” Through the AACRC as well as his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, Mitchell met other Black students. He also became student body president in 2016.

Chanel graduated in 2017 with a degree in middle childhood education and then moved to North Carolina to work for Teach for America. Mitchell graduated a year later and headed to Chicago. In 2020, still living in separate states, Mitchell organized an extravagant scavenger hunt that sent Chanel from one venue in Columbus, Ohio, to another. The adventure ended in a park, where Mitchell proposed.

Walter Stewart and Rebecca Borukhovsky bonded over their love of sports and their Northeastern Ohio roots. In her Dance Team role, Rebecca cheered for Walter from the sidelines during UC’s football games. “It was an awesome experience,” she says. “I’ll never forget his senior night.” Walter finished his Bearcat career as one of the top defensive players during his era at UC.

After graduating, Walter maintained a long-distance relationship with Rebecca, even after he began his coaching career a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee. “I was still talking to her, still going to visit her,” Walter recalls. “That was a sign for me. I really like this person.”

A bigger sign emerged during Rebecca’s sophomore year, when she discovered she was pregnant. Rebecca credits the late Carol Wissman, a senior academic adviser and adjunct psychology professor, with shepherding her through the complex months and years that followed.

“She was one of the most impactful people for us both through UC,” Rebecca says. “She was always an incredible support system for me personally, coming into school and then having my daughter so young. I remember going into her office and telling her that I was pregnant and trying to figure out what was next for me and how I was going to finish school. She had zero doubt in her mind, zero questions asked.”

Wissman put together a plan that enabled Rebecca to join Walter in Knoxville and give birth to their daughter, all while continuing her coursework online for three semesters. Rebecca then returned to UC for her senior year and graduated on time. “Carol Wissman will always have a special place in our hearts,” Rebecca says. 

Says Chanel: “UC is not only the place where we met and fell in love — it is also the place where we really found ourselves. We were both able to step out of our comfort zones and create identities for ourselves. And now we are able to sit down on random nights and reminisce about so many memories that we have. It was a really sweet time in our lives, and we will always remember it. Finding love in college is not a path for everyone, but it is a sweet thing to have.”

Shane and Jeff’s UC ties were further strengthened because their children became big UC fans. Last fall Shane and Jeff attended Homecoming along with their oldest son, who is a freshman at UC. “He came to the game with us, not with his friends,” Shane says. “That was a sweet moment.”

Shane Rieder: Don’t take things so seriously. Have fun. Learn to laugh at the little things. Let them go.

Jeff Rieder: Focus on what you have in common. Show respect where you’re different.