Second-year elementary education student Lillie Underwood was on a walk with her boyfriend, fourth-year mechanical engineering student Jefferson Elmore, when something unexpected happened.
It was spring break, and the couple was celebrating Elmore's recent house purchase. They had reached a picturesque waterfall spot when he got down on one knee.
The two had discussed getting married, but Underwood hadn’t been expecting the proposal, she said.
“It was like a dream,” she said. “I could not believe that was real and that it's my life. I was just over the moon, excited to step into that phase of life, and thankful that the Lord's provided in that.”
Underwood said some people may find it hard to understand why someone would get married in college, but for her, it just made sense. And she’s not the only one. According to Campus Explorer, 7% of college students get married before graduating.
Fourth-year visual communications student Adianna Macklin has been married for almost two years, and third-year civil engineering student Aaron Mayer has been married since August.
Mayer married his wife — a second-year media arts student — in August 2025. The two wanted to take in as much of life as they could with the little time they’re given, he said.
“We kind of realized that the only thing holding us back was other people and cultural stereotypes and those kinds of things, and we wanted to get married,” Mayer said. “And so we did.”
Macklin said while many people view their college years as time to have fun and explore and worry marriage would restrict that, the opposite has been true for her. Macklin describes him as her best friend and partner through everything.
“We found each other really young," Macklin said. “But that's what makes it so amazing because then I have this one giant part of my life already figured out, already established. I have found my person.”
All three couples met their partners in high school, but unlike Mayer and Underwood, Macklin’s husband doesn’t go to USC.
Macklin and her husband, who’s in the Navy, got married nearly two years ago between two of his deployments, and the long-distance element can be difficult, she said.
“We would write letters to each other, and I’d go pick them up at Blatt and read them so frantically,” Macklin said. “Half the time, I would just be sitting there happily crying right outside of Blatt because our connection is really deep.”
Being a military spouse also has its perks, Macklin said. Her husband has supported her financially through college, and she said knows they’ll be in a good financial situation once she graduates.
There are other monetary benefits for college married couples not in the military, Mayer said. As a married couple, the two qualify as independents under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and are able to receive more money to go to school.
Mayer wouldn’t consider him and his wife like regular students because they've supported themselves financially through college, he said.
“It’s a little bit different than having your parents pay your college bill or taking out loans and just doing the college process,” Mayer said. “We're working our job, and we're making our savings, and we're already sort of employed.”
Mayer’s parents don’t know he’s married. His mother got married young and advised him against it, he said.
“She still thinks that I should be waiting until I'm 25, and that's just not the way I want to go,” Mayer said. “I prefer to take my life in the stages as they present themselves.”
He and his wife plan to have a large wedding and invite each of their families a couple years down the road when they can afford it.
Mayer was raised in the Mormon faith. He said he originally planned to marry in a Mormon temple before he left the faith after realizing much of it was illogical. Although Mormons stereotypically get married young, Mayer said the faith didn't influence his decision to get married in college.
While it may not have been a factor for Mayer, Underwood said that in her relationship, faith was central.
“We both have the same values in the sense of we're both Christian and faith-based,” Underwood said. “Family to us is huge.”
Underwood planned on getting married in her early 20s and having kids by her late 20s. Even before she started dating, Underwood knew she wanted to date with the intent of marriage.
“I grew up in a family where my mom, her biggest dream in the entire world was to be a mother, and I've always kind of felt the same,” she said.
Mayer said many people don’t realize that getting married is not just about a number of years a couple has spent together, how attracted they are to each other or even if they have shared interests.
“All of those things fade when you're going to be together for over 40 years,” he said. “The main things that matter is, 'Do we share common values? Do we share common goals? And do we like spending time with each other?' And we tick all of those boxes better than anyone that we've ever met.”