A walk down the aisle right after walking at graduation generally isn’t the next step in a college student’s life. Today, most students are trying to establish their careers before making a commitment. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, “…From the 1950s to the early 1970s women had tended to marry a little more than a year after graduation; by 1981 the median age of marriage for college-educated women was 25.”

However, there are a couple of students on campus who believe there’s no reason to wait if the time is right. Rebecca Block, A’10, got engaged in November 2011, a little over a year after graduating. She and her fiancé, Quinton Autin, have been together for five years and will be 24 and 25 respectively by the time they get married.

Although many people might think it is better to put off marriage a couple of years until life is stable, Block does not feel this is a problem. Her fiancé is a certified public accountant and has been with a CPA firm for three years. Block will still be in law school five months after their wedding date. “My career isn’t established. Because we have been together for so long, I’d rather establish my career being married to him, instead of doing it alone,” Block said.

As for their families, Block feels that there are no major concerns about their upcoming nuptials. “We aren’t sure what sacrifices we will have to make, but each married couple faces sacrifices. I have no doubt that we will struggle, as all couples do, but that is not unique because of our ages.”

There are also students on campus who have chosen to get married before their graduation. Mass communication senior Kimberly K. Aguillard married her boyfriend, Sy Aguillard, of three years in June 2011. She also felt that getting married young wasn’t a problem. “We felt that we were ready to make the commitment of marriage even though we were young. Age was never an issue in deciding to get married,” Aguillard said.

In Aguillard’s family, it is tradition for the man to ask the father for the daughter’s hand in marriage. When Sy went to speak with Aguillard’s father, his only condition was that she not be distracted from her studies or from achieving her goals. Although their families were supportive, Aguillard found that more concern over her age came from her peers. “People would say, “Oh you’re so young, how do you even know that he is the right one?”‘ She said these comments didn’t worry her because she felt that this was the next step in her relationship with Sy.

Despite the comments, Aguillard spent her junior year planning her wedding. During that year, she had to go through the stress of juggling school, a job, an internship and all the wedding details. Yet she was determined not to let this get in the way from finishing school. “My school life didn’t stop because I got a ring on my finger. I may have put a little more on my plate in order to get married at the end of my junior year, but that was what we wanted,” Aguillard said.

Now that she has gotten through her first semester as a married woman, she continues to maintain the same level of control. When Sy goes to work, she goes to school, which allows them to spend their evenings together. Each morning the couple go over their schedules and plan what they’re going to have for dinner. Depending on Aguillard’s workload, they take turns cooking meals. There are some times when she does have to stay at school late due projects or PRSSA meetings, but her husband is understanding. “I am very proud of her and the things that she does at school. Of course, I would rather her not be at school late, but I understand that sometimes she has to be,” Sy said.

Regardless of one’s preference of when it is right to get married, it is important to remember that the decision is an big one. “If you are thinking about getting married soon, make sure everything is out on the table… if you are both on the same page, marriage will not seem like you are jumping off a cliff. It will just be the next stage in your relationship and in your life,” Aguillard said.

(photo courtesy of Rebecca Block )

(photo courtesy of Kimberly K. Aguillard)