At Goshen College, it’s safe to say that the majority of the student population is single. Sorry if I called you out. Following that group is a smaller portion of students who are in relationships. And even smaller than that, are the students who are married.

Maria Petit Arias is a senior psychology major, and transferred to GC when she was engaged. She is Latin American, and she said her culture and upbringing were very different when compared to most people who grew up in the states.

In her family, she was expected to stay home until she got married. “I could go out, but it wasn’t acceptable for me to leave home whenever I wanted to,” she said.

She and her husband, Wesley Stout, have been dating since they were 16, and there are strict rules about that too.

“We didn’t go out on a date for like eight months when we first started dating,” she said. Their first time going out alone on a date was their eight month anniversary.

To some people, marriage may seem like a burden, a necessity or a social construct. But that’s not the case for Petit Arias. “Marriage gets a bad rap,” she said.

“Getting married for me was really helpful. I feel more free.”

Anthony Beatriz studies elementary education, with a focus in English learners education. He attended GC from 2018 to 2020, but stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. He then served in the Air Force before realizing that he needed to take a new path in life, which led him back to college.

“I am still able to attend classes as normal and hangout with friends and do classwork and extracurriculars … while also spending time with my family.”

He says that the best thing about being married in college is the fact that, “I get to go home and be with my best friend every night.”

 

Marriage doesn’t just come with a wedding band and a new last name; it comes with additional responsibilities, like owning a home and having a family.

Petit Arias and Stout bought a house in May of 2024.

“Things need to be done around the house,” she said, and sometimes she is put in tough situations.

“I can’t go home right now because I need to stay and finish this chapter in the library,” she said. “We have dogs and cats, and they need to be taken care of, and that can take time away from being in school.”

Beatriz and his wife have a son, and he brings his son to class because childcare is so expensive. He says that it’s difficult to dedicate time to both family and school, and some things have to be prioritized.

“Sometimes the time constraints of classes, projects, and all of those things can bleed into time that I would like to spend with my family,” Beatriz said.

“Instead of having dinner with them or going on walks or playing board games, I’m in the library doing homework and studying.”

Both Petit Arias and Beatriz emphasize the good that being married can have.

“My grades improved greatly. I’m a lot happier. It’s been better all around,” Petit Arias said.

“I tend to be pretty relaxed to a detriment and so she helps keep me on task and focused on my goals,” Beatriz said. “I really could not have made it this far without her.”

If you noticed, both these students have one thing in common besides a marriage certificate. They both say that their significant other is their best friend. And that’s one piece of advice that they say is most important.

Petit Arias puts it plainly, “Marry your best friend, that’s the best advice that I can give out.”