My sweetheart Jeremy and I have been very good friends for five years now. We met here on the beautiful campus of Valdosta State University. We both graduated last May and were both accepted into graduate school. We are both proud VSU ALUMNI! J Jeremy is pursuing his Master’s Degree in Student Affairs in College Personnel Student Administration at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. I am at Valdosta State University pursuing my Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Human Resources.

Being in a long-distance relationship for almost a year now, we have seen how important communication is in our relationship and we value the growth of trust that has come out of it. Because we are both pursuing Master’s degrees while living in two different cities, our lives can get pretty hectic. Communication is key to our relationship. Because we live so far apart, we rely on speaking to each other on the phone, text messaging and, of course, Skype.

We both have a very strong background in Speech Communication at Valdosta State and we each enjoyed taking classes from all our professors and getting the opportunity to connect with them and all our classmates. Speech Communication will be our family for life! We applied what we were learning in the classroom and transferred it to everyday interactions and situations which prepared us for the professional realm. Because we both have a passion for people, communication, and diversity, becoming a couple made everything all the more enjoyable. It is an amazing feeling to be in a relationship with someone who relates and listens to me so well. We are both truly blessed to be able to live life together and to share each other’s experiences.

We always find a way to relate to each other and to be patient with one another on both our good and bad days. Simple communication skills from our undergraduate days have really helped our relationship flourish and become stronger as time goes by. Classes like Nonverbal Communication and Interpersonal Communication have really helped us to better relate and listen to one another. When we look back at our undergraduate years and reflect on our experiences we better understand the importance of effective communication and how well we have been prepared on a professional level as well as in the relationship that we share. We enjoy every minute we get to relate to one another.

We encourage you to take full advantage of your undergraduate years by networking and embracing the diversity at Valdosta State University. Communication is always around you, every day and everywhere whether you realize it or not!