TAMPA, Fla. — Some of the most important moments in an individual’s life are the day you graduate from school and the day you stroll down the aisle. A pair of University of South Florida grads managed to do each in one day.
Emily and Sean Rooks have had rather a lot to have fun. They’ve been collectively for eight years, assembly at Ave Maria University.
“I was playing college basketball there. She was playing college lacrosse,” stated Sean. “Stopped going to school, moved back here, got into the professional world, wanted to finish our degree to set a good example for our daughter, so we got into the same program.”
Both have been in USF’s College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.
They finally received engaged and deliberate to elope, however not too long ago, had one other concept: to get married on the same day as their commencement.
“We knew we were graduating, and we were like you know what if we just go to the botanical gardens right before and get married?” stated Emily.
On Friday, the couple match all the pieces right into a tightly packed schedule with a marriage one hour, then off to commencement the subsequent.
“First, we went to the botanical gardens, and we had a bunch of photos done,” stated Emily. “That was at 4:00pm, and then the ceremony was around like 4:30pm, and then we quickly took pictures, and we had to be out of there by 5:00pm. Then, we had to be at the graduation at 5:30pm so we were early enough to get into our seats and everything.”
They received married on campus on the USF Botanical Gardens. Emily even wore her marriage ceremony gown beneath her commencement robe.
“Once I paid that much for a dress, I was like, I have to wear it longer than just the hour,” stated Emily. “I decorated my cap that says just married, and it was a big celebration.”
The congratulations didn’t cease on the altar both. Instead, the newlyweds received a particular shoutout throughout their graduation.
The couple graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Language Speech Hearing Science.
“It was great. You know it’s been a long-time coming,” stated Emily. “Obviously, I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”
It was a particular day that began with “I do” and ended with diplomas in hand, and now the Rooks are ringing in a brand new chapter of life collectively.
“An emotional roller coaster yesterday for sure. I mean obviously, we are very excited to get married, but that comes saying our vows in front of people is emotional, and then it’s like a whole different emotion graduating,” stated Sean. “The word that she likes to use is resilience. We kind of just stuck it out, and it was not easy. It’s not easy to go to school with a kid. It’s not easy to go to school with a career, but it’s worth it.”