“You Make Me Feel So Young:” Teachers and Their High School Sweethearts

Finding the “love of your life,” “the one” and “your forever person” is a dream held by many. In fact, according to recent statistics from Pew Research, 69% of young adults aspire to marry. 

While some people wait a long time for that special someone to show up, others get lucky and meet their future spouse early on — even in their teenage years.  

A few teachers at the school who fall into this category tied the knot with their high school sweethearts. 

Science teacher Gretchen Martin, for one, was a freshman when her love story blossomed. 

Gretchen was in marching band. When practice wrapped up, students typically mingled and chatted in the band room. There was one peer Gretchen found herself socializing with often: Lester Martin, a senior. 

“He was just super funny. He made me laugh a lot,” she said. “He still makes me laugh, so that’s the best part of him.” 

After three to four months of being friends (while secretly liking each other, of course), they started dating. Their first date consisted of a planetarium show and dinner, and their subsequent outings were usually pretty similar: watching a movie and going out to eat. 

When Lester graduated high school, he attended the University of North Texas, which wasn’t far from their hometown of Fort Worth. Even when Gretchen eventually went to college at Texas Women’s University, she was close to Lester, so long distance was never a problem. 

It did, however, become an issue when Lester, a member of the Army Reserve, was called up for Operation Desert Storm. 

“He was in country for three months, but it was a long time. That was hard,” Gretchen said. 

While he was away, Gretchen still made sure to let him know how much she loved him. Really loved him. 

“I would send him care packages, and on the lids, I would put [pictures of] engagement rings on them,” she said with a laugh. 

Lester certainly picked up on her “hints,” because when he returned home, he brought her to the park downtown and popped the question. 

“When we go back home, we always see it, and my kids know that’s the park he proposed at,” Gretchen said. 

The rest is history. Their 29 years of marriage have mainly consisted of raising their two kids, Connor and Zoe. 

Though Lester grew in maturity, as most do as they age and become parents, almost three decades of marriage still haven’t changed his humor, thoughtfulness and kindness, said Gretchen. 

“He really is one of the nicest guys out there,” she said. 

Interrelated Resource (IRR) teacher Hannah Hudson and her husband, Jared Hudson, began dating towards the end of her senior year and his junior year of high school. They were friends for two years prior, though, through taking Spanish classes together. 

“The first day I saw him, I knew I was in love,” Hannah said. 

She was attracted to his intelligence and quick wit, she said. 

When they became an official couple, they spent a lot of their time going to concerts, eating out and going on drives and exploring. 

“I’m from Alabama, so we’d drive through all the different neighborhoods and cities in Birmingham,” Hannah said. 

Hannah attended the University of Alabama after graduating high school, which was an hour away from Jared. The long distance was rough, she said. 

Thankfully, it didn’t last long. With Hannah not enjoying Alabama and Jared going to Auburn University the next year, Hannah transferred to Auburn, so they spent their college years together, and “it was awesome,” Hannah said. 

When she completed college, she earned a teaching job in Birmingham. On the weekends, she would see Jared at school. 

“I was visiting him one weekend, and he proposed in this beautiful, quaint little town square. It was very simple. We knew. We both knew we wanted to get married, so it wasn’t anything over the top,” she said. 

Since their two and a half years of marriage, Hannah and Jared moved to Georgia, bought a house and became parents to their daughter, Harper. 

While Jared is still as funny and bright as he was in high school, said Hannah, he definitely is different now in how mature he is. 

“He’s much more humbled. We were both very prideful in high school, so we’ve been humbled by the world, and it’s made us better people for it,” she said. 

Amy Landi, an Instructional Support Teacher (IST), was a senior when she was swept off her feet by college sophomore Scott Landi, the youth group leader at church. They started dating after one month of getting to know one another. 

Though they were very talkative, relaxed and outgoing at church retreats, just to the two of them on their first date was painfully uneasy. 

“Neither one of us knew what to say,” Amy said. 

Nevertheless, the awkwardness that day didn’t stop Amy and Scott from pursuing each other. They overcame their nerves and continued spending time together, whether it be at church, the movies, dinner or the park. 

Though Amy and Scott’s love story ended on a happy note, there was a rocky period in their relationship. 

When Amy’s dad fell ill, she transferred from the College of Charleston to Kennesaw State University, where Scott went. So, not only could she tend to her father’s needs, but she saw Scott much more. 

Their dynamic became unhealthy. A mutual clinginess developed, which wasn’t good, Amy said. 

“It got to a point where we almost took each other for granted,” she said. 

They took a year-long break to focus on themselves and improve their relationship. 

“I dated a couple other people and then realized that he is better than the rest of the bunch,” Amy said. 

Now, they’ve been married for 25 years and have two adopted sons, Eric and Sean. 

What’s special about marrying your high school sweetheart, said Amy, is that you get to know your future spouse so much better. She and Scott dated for six years before getting hitched, so they got to take things slow and have more time to truly learn about each other. 

Gretchen said that since she and Lester were so young when they dated, “we grew up together, so our political views, our ethical views and our values, are very, very similar, and when we got pregnant, we went back to church together.” 

She is grateful that because of their shared mindset, they hardly have conflict when it comes to what they care about, she said. 

For Hannah, having friendship at the root of her marriage makes it that much sweeter. 

“It’s just that special bond of being a friend first before you get married that makes the marriage even more meaningful and special and strong,” she said.

Teacher’s Dating Advice

1. Gretchen Martin: “Be friends first, and then you’ll fall in love.”
2. Amy Landi: “What you like is important.” Don’t conform to what someone else wants or what their interests are.
3. Amy Landi: “Keep your friends.” Don’t ditch your pals when you get a partner.
4. Hannah Hudson: “Put your phones down and talk to each other.”
5. Hannah Hudson: “Be yourself, because that’s why the person will or will not be attracted to you.”