By Hannah Shirey ’23, assistant editor
Lebanon Valley College: a small liberal arts college in Annville, PA. No, scratch that. Lebanon Valley College: a school where love stories are made. Now, that’s more like it.
Back in 2018, TJ Holdredge and Casey Holdredge (formerly Burke) met at “Let’s Be Real,” a student-led worship group on campus. TJ was Casey’s small group leader, and you know how the saying goes…love at first sight, or something like that.
“A boy caught my eye,” Casey Holdredge, a speech-language pathology graduate student, said. “I knew I wanted to get to know him.”
After meeting, the two continued talking and eventually started going on study dates, where studying quickly took the backburner and getting to know each other took precedence. The two started officially dating in March 2018.
TJ and Casey have been college students for the entirety of their relationship, making it sometimes challenging to spend time together. Casey, who is older than TJ, lived off campus for two years after completing her undergraduate studies, while TJ lived on campus. As undergraduate students, both were heavily involved at LVC; they participated in Christian life, athletics and extracurriculars.
“It was a special time for us because we both loved what we were involved in and succeeded in it,” TJ Holdredge, a physical therapy graduate student, said. “We admired it in one another and didn’t take those opportunities away from each other but supported each other in what we loved to do.”
TJ knew Casey was the one pretty early on, but there was a special moment that really sealed the deal.
After TJ’s mom had endured a long and challenging year as a speech therapist during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Casey and TJ’s mom went on a vacation to Outer Banks, North Carolina together—that’s right, TJ wasn’t even invited.
“I knew that if this woman would care for my mom that much and be willing to spend a week with her just hanging out to serve her, I needed to put a ring on her finger,” TJ said.
That week while Casey and TJ’s mom were at the beach, TJ went to the store and bought Casey a ring. The couple got engaged on Jockey’s Ridge in the Outer Banks on July 31, 2020, with a beautiful sunset behind them.
Then, on Jan. 15, 2022, the couple got married at Historic Acres of Hershey in Elizabethtown, PA. Surrounded by their friends and family—185 guests—the couple said, “I do.”
“TJ has a lot to love about him,” Casey said. “His passion for people and relationships is something that I love about him. He will do anything for anyone at any time.”
The married couple is currently living in Loudon County, Virginia completing their final externships. TJ is in his last year of PT school, doing his final 16 week clinical at TrueSports in Maryland. Casey is finishing up her master’s degree in speech language pathology, completing her last clinical in Loudon County School District in Virginia.
Although married life has certainly been a big adjustment, the couple is excited to see each other every day and serve each other daily, especially after having a long-distance relationship.
“I tell people LVC brought me three degrees and my husband,” Casey said.
And that’s what made it all worth it.