While some students are spending Valentine’s Day with friends, others will be spending the holiday with their fiances.
Junior Colby Whitehouse met junior Callie Rogers during November of their freshman year at a dorm party in Duncan Hall. They began dating the following semester.
This past semester, Rogers and Whitehouse studied abroad at University College Dublin. Whitehouse proposed to Rogers on Nov. 9 during a weekend trip to Norway in which the couple went on a bus tour to see the northern lights.
According to Rogers, the couple began talking about their future together quickly after they started dating. Whitehouse continued, stating the two both intended to “date to marry."
“As we grew closer to each other and dated each other for a while, eventually, it was just like, ‘OK … when do we kind of want to do this? We kind of know … the direction we want to go,’ and so then it was just a question of timing with college and stuff,” Whitehouse said.
The couple plans to get married the summer after graduation.
“We both were definitely ready for [an engagement]. We both knew we wanted to take the next step,” Whitehouse said. “She wanted to get engaged early to start with the wedding planning and stuff, hopefully as early as possible, just to make that process easier.”
Whitehouse was not set on a date to propose. Instead, he considered when the “best time” would be, and he settled on their semester abroad in Dublin.
Whitehouse also said he attended one of his sister’s friend’s weddings last summer. The couple who got married had been engaged their junior year of college and got married the summer after their graduation.
“I had just seen that [wedding] happen too ... it’s early, but it's not that uncommon as sometimes it seems,” he said. “There’s also a guy in Duncan who two years ago, proposed abroad fall junior year. So just kind of all that [I thought] it’s a good time.”
The couple want to get married in Colorado. Whitehouse plans to look at wedding venues over spring break.
“Hopefully, we’ll get married in June or July of 2026, and then move,” Rogers said. “I’d like to be close to one of our families, but it really just depends on where we can get jobs.”
Whitehouse added they would like to find jobs in Denver, which he believes will offer technology and environment-related opportunities.
Both Rogers and Whitehouse are Catholic and intend to be married in the Catholic Church.
“I was really struggling with Catholicism because I was raised Catholic, but it … felt kind of like a blind Catholicism to me,’” Rogers said. “And then I met Colby, and that’s when everything kind of changed. Even before we were dating, he was having conversations with me about my faith.”
Whitehouse said he viewed their faith as a couple as a “journey.”
“Even before we started dating, just being able to talk … being able to build that relationship and really let God work through me to bring [Rogers] back in, and that’s something that’s really connected us and helped us grow together,” Whitehouse said.
When asked if the faith and culture on campus influenced their engagement, Rogers indicated it had “played a part,” mentioning the “supportive community” at Notre Dame. She said seeing other people “take that journey together” assured the couple.
Rogers said she believes every person’s journey with their significant other is their own to follow.
“I’ve had this conversation with my sister and my mom. They’re like, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? You're so young,’ … It’s your own journey. You shouldn't let anyone else tell you when … [it’s] appropriate to get engaged or get married. And if you feel like you’re ready, you know you’re ready, and you have had those conversations with that person, and you can really see yourself spending the rest of your life with them, then just go for it,” Rogers said.
Whitehouse discussed the lifelong commitment of marriage and said it’s “not something that you really should take lightly.” He said he also talked with his parents about getting married, as they wanted to ensure the decision was being made for the right reasons.
“It’s just something that a lot of prayer, a lot of discernment and just a lot of conversations between the two of us … that’s really what went into everything. And I think that’s kind of the only way to do it, to make sure that you know this is the right decision,” Whitehouse said.
Rogers and Whitehouse agree they have matured together and look forward to growing more together. As part of their preparation for the future, the couple signed up to participate in Notre Dame Campus Ministry’s marriage preparation.
As a marriage preparation coordinator with Campus Ministry, Suzy Younger works with undergraduate, graduate and law students who are preparing for or discerning the sacrament of marriage.
“Marriage preparation through Campus Ministry is a blend of at least five personalized meetings with me, two meetings with a mentor couple that I pair them with, an introduction to the fertility awareness method of their choice and a selection of readings, podcasts and videos,” Younger wrote.
According to Younger, the preparation focuses on formation in psychology, philosophy and theology.
“This includes covering a variety of topics including sacrament of marriage, theology of the body, sexual intimacy, family planning and parenting, families of origin and establishing healthy boundaries, trust and commitment, friendship and communication, finances and shared dreams and developing a family culture,” Younger wrote in an email.
Younger added Campus Ministry offers a day-long workshop twice a year based on John Gottman’s “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.” The next workshop will be offered on Sunday, March 30.
“The undergraduate students I work with come for a variety of reasons. Some are already engaged and wish to complete marriage preparation required by the Catholic Church with us in Campus Ministry while they are still on campus,” Younger wrote. “Other students are getting closer to engagement but wish to meet for counsel on specific issues or questions they are facing before they get engaged.”
According to Younger, 40-50 couples per year complete their marriage preparation with campus ministry.
“More and more students are coming to me seeking out advice for healthy relationships and guidance on how to date, discern and prepare for marriage, even if that is before they are in a committed relationship,” Younger wrote. “The conversations with these students and their expressed desire for more formation opportunities led me to develop a series I now offer called Dating Under the Dome.”
Younger said “Dating Under the Dome,” a marriage discernment event, typically attracts 100 students.
“I am blessed to serve in such an incredible community. The couples I prepare love to learn and are eager to gain the knowledge and skills to create a solid foundation for their future marriage,” Younger wrote.
