As this is the month of February, this edition of the Alumni Corner will feature an alumni couple who met at Central Catholic.
Meet Tim and Jill (Lodde) Greives! Tim graduated from Central Catholic in 1999, and Jill graduated in 2000. After high school, Tim attended Indiana University where he tried out several different majors before earning his Bachelor's degrees in Biology and Psychology in Fall 2003.
After being told she would not be allowed to live at home during college, Jill chose to attend Indiana University in beautiful Bloomington as well. Initially interested in Elementary Education, Jill quickly changed her major to Speech & Hearing Sciences to avoid speaking in front of a classroom. During the three last years of college, she lived with fellow CC classmates Lauren Loew and Angela Lynch.
Both Tim and Jill began graduate school at IU in 2004; Tim began a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, and Jill began the Doctor of Audiology program. That November, with the help of Tim’s sister, Melissa (‘97), they became engaged. They were married at St. Mary Cathedral on December 10, 2005, after a snowstorm that nearly prevented them from attending their own wedding. At Tim’s request, Fr. Dick Weisenberger, the pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral during both Tim and Jill’s time in school at St. Mary, performed the wedding ceremony.
Jill completed her AuD program in summer 2007, then worked as an audiologist in a busy ENT office in Columbus, Indiana. During the fall of 2008, Tim came home and asked Jill how she felt about him considering a post-doctoral research opportunity in southern Germany. After Tim finished his Ph.D. program, they moved with their cat to Güttingen, Germany in August 2009.
In 2013 they moved to Fargo, ND for Tim to begin his career as an assistant professor in Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Despite the chilly temperatures, they received a warm welcome from their new neighbors, who have become good friends. During the fall semester of 2013, Jill was offered a part-time position as an academic advisor in the Biological Sciences department. Unfortunately for Jill, this position does require her to speak in front of a classroom. So far, she has survived each semester. While at NDSU, Tim has been teaching the undergraduate courses Physiological Ecology, Hormones and Behavior, and the graduate level Biological Rhythms.
They share their home with their dog and two cats, Henry, Grau, and George. Henry has accompanied them on many camping trips, canoe rides, visits to National Parks and the Black Hills, and romps through the snow.
Although you knew each other throughout your time in school, when did you start dating?
Tim asked Jill “do you want to do something sometime?” at the CC Halloween dance in 1997. “After confirming with a confident ‘I guess’ our first real date was attending the rerelease of the Little Mermaid at the Eastside 10 movie theater,” said Jill. “A few months later, we went to the Winter Dance together where we perfected our skill of dancing while leaving room for the Holy Spirit. This was a dance move we were certain to incorporate in our first dance at our wedding.”
The Greives wedding was full of CC alumni; Jill’s sisters, Rachel (’95) and Megan (’98), and friend Lauren Loew (’00) were bridesmaids; Kyle Delaney and Michael Seaman (both ’99) were groomsmen. Tim’s sisters, Laura (‘95’), Melissa (’97), and Nicole (’01), read during the ceremony. Lisa Loew (’02) provided her beautiful voice for the music. Kyle gave a heartfelt speech, which may have poked a bit of fun at Tim and Jill’s relationship.
“My favorite humorous memories of our wedding include Tim wiping his sweaty palms on his pants as my dad and I approached,” said Jill. “During the sign of peace, Tim nearly knocked over a candle onto his parents. Lastly, my sisters frantically trying to get my attention to tell me to stop swinging my feet, which did not touch the ground.”
Despite not enjoying the wedding planning process (except for the cake tasting), both Tim and Jill really enjoyed their wedding day. “We were so pleased to have our family and friends in attendance.”
How did your education at LCSS prepare you for your life after high school?
Because there were so many wonderful teachers, we cannot express our admiration for all of them here. But the general skills, life lessons, and morals we learned throughout our time at LCSS have shaped who we are today. Most teachers at LCSS expected students to put in the time and effort for assignments, projects, and exams. This was an important experience going into college. For Jill, Mr. Robert Taylor was a great source of inspiration to make the effort in class; he wouldn’t let you get away without reading your textbook! For Tim, Mr. Studebaker intrigued his interest in the life sciences.
Although Lafayette is a good-sized town, LCSS provided a small-town feel. We had known the majority of our classmates since kindergarten. Additionally, we knew their siblings and the students several grades above and below us. We feel that was a unique experience to have in a town the size of Lafayette.
What did you like most about your experience at LCSS?
We both value the tight-knit feel of classmates and friend groups from spending so many years together during our time at LCSS. There were smaller groups of friends, but in general, everyone got along most of the time.
Additionally, we were each the third kid to go through LCSS, so we knew which teachers to hope for as our teachers at St. Mary’s and St. Boniface. Oh, the excitement of learning who your teacher would be for the year! We just had to hope our older sisters hadn’t given us a bad name. Or worse, set expectations too high.
What is your favorite memory from your years at LCSS?
At St. Mary and St. Boniface: We both have many memories of Saturday morning basketball games for older sisters and then finally for us. Running through the basement hallways at St. Mary during those basketball games, hoping to not be caught by Sr. Rose in the library. The Fall Festival and the cakewalk! Mass music practice at St. Mary after lunch recess. Participating in the interpretive dance to the Penitential Act during Mass at St. Boniface. Sitting on the stairs at St. B singing Advent songs at the start of the school day. The Sacred Heart basketball tournament. Visiting CC during Catholic Schools Week and being paired with a high school student was always great fun! Marc Hill’s grandma providing hot dog lunches.
At CC: Junior high dances, everyone plastered to the walls until a slow song came on. Wendell was always the best DJ. Sharing classrooms after lunch to watch Channel 1 News. Being involved in choir with Mr. Branson. He always took us to perform for Veterans’ Day, something we think about every year. Because of the size of the school, we were able to participate in the sports we wanted to. One of us (Tim) was better suited for the sports they were involved in; the other just had fun being on the team.
