We are happy to celebrate Jennifer Kmetich and John Lundy, who met in French 103 and reached out to their former instructor, Gloria Torrini-Roblin, to share the news about their recent engagement! Jennifer and John got to know each other during spring of 2012 and often practiced their French together as part of partner assignments. They believe that had it not been for Torrini-Roblin’s focus on partner work, their story might have never happened.
Jennifer moved to Philadelphia with John after they completed college. They live there now with two dogs, a 6-year old Leonberger and a 15-week old Goldendoodle. The dogs are named Jack and Benny after the breakfast diner “Jack and Benny’s” just north of Ohio State’s campus. John proposed on The Oval, where they used to chat after French class back in 2012.
Torrini-Roblin was quick to point out that encouraging students to talk in language class is just part of being a good instructor, but she remembers Jennifer and John as students who took these in-class activities seriously. She also shared that she got to know her own partner while using French, her foreign language and his native. Torrini-Roblin believes that communicating in a foreign tongue forces people to say things in a simple unfiltered way, which might actually remove some of the masks we often put on our feelings in a native tongue, and allow for more sincere communication.
Thank you to Jennifer and John for sharing your story, and congratulations!
