College is a time to meet new people, especially classmates who share similar interests or majors. Students may even meet their partners during their time in college. It may even be likely. According to a survey by The Knot’s Engagement Study in 2024, approximately 28% of couples met on a college campus.
While Paul and Allison Wiedemeier did not meet on ULM’s campus, they did meet at Drake University in Iowa while pursuing their undergraduate degrees in 1989. However, working at ULM together was a coincidence.
Paul received a job offer first, prompting the move to Louisiana. Shortly afterward, a position opened in Allison’s department.
“Our whole relationship has been built on things that we didn’t expect to happen,” Allison Wiedemeier said. “ULM has been a big step in our journey in the unexpected.”
The Wiedemeiers explain that working together is beneficial because they are only a building apart. They can spend time with each other and their students. They also believe that being in separate departments proves to be very useful, as they feel more knowledgeable about events on campus since they are not hearing the same stories.
Ross and Anastasia Couvillon, both faculty in the biology department, met in 2014 while working on their doctoral dissertations at Texas A&M University in Kingsville. Because they enrolled in the same department, they frequently collaborated on projects and fieldwork. Their smaller graduate program and mutual friends gravitated them together.
Similar to the Wiedemeiers, a job offer led them to relocate to Louisiana. Dr. Ross Couvillon later earned a tenured position in the same department a year after joining ULM’s faculty as an adjunct professor in 2022.
The Couvillons benefit from having their young daughter at ULM’s on-campus daycare. Their shared workplace and choice of daycare allow them to carpool together, providing them with a little extra time before starting their day on campus.
“It’s a peace of mind,” Anastasia Couvillon said. “Our toddler is here at the daycare two minutes away, and we’re two minutes away from each other.”
For the Wiedemeiers and the Couvillons, ULM is more than just a job offer—it became an opportunity for both their careers and relationships to grow. They still support each other all these years later while making an impact on students.
