Naomi Wood and Julian Quintero
Naomi Wood is a Funding Opportunity Analyst in the Office of Grants and Contracts. She's married to Julian Quintero, a Senior Web Developer and Programmer in University Relations, Communications and Marketing. They live in Denton with their daughter, Jocelyn.
The couple met on Feb. 18, 2012, at the annual regional McNair Scholars Research Symposium, hosted by UNT. At the time, Wood was a UNT McNair Scholar and Quintero was an Embry Riddle McNair Scholar living in Daytona Beach, Fla. After the two met, they continued to make time for one another in a long distance relationship, flying back and forth between Florida and Texas, for a year.
Almost immediately after graduating in 2012 with a degree in Psychology, Wood started working at the university full time in the office of Admissions.
The next year Quintero and his dog, Raiden, made the move to Denton and he joined the UNT Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science staff while he completed a bachelor's degree in Engineering at UNT. Education has always been important to Wood and Quintero, and they each decided to pursue master's degrees -- Quintero in Computer Science and Wood in International Studies.
The couple married on the third anniversary of their meeting, Feb. 18, 2015.
“We pretty much live on campus,” Wood says. “We eat at the cafeterias, we use the tuition benefit, we work out at the rec center; it's like a little city within a city and we're so happy to have all of these resources available to us. We love our UNT community and we've planted ourselves permanently here.”
Jenn Aglio and Megan Morrissey
Jenn and Megan met 11 years ago during their first semester of graduate school at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where they were each working on master's degrees in Communication Studies. Their desire for further education in their respective fields led them to pursue terminal degrees six months after they started dating.
Their decision to move forward meant leaving North Carolina, their families and friends. They began applying at the same schools and were both accepted into programs in Colorado - Megan at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Jenn at Naropa University. Eighteen months after meeting, they moved across the country together to make a new life in a brand new place.
After five years in Colorado and after they each finished their terminal degrees -- a doctoral degree for Morrissey in Communication Studies, specializing in rhetoric and a master's of fine arts degree for Aglio in Writing and Poetics -- Morrissey was offered a tenure-track position at UNT to teach rhetoric in the Communication Studies Department, so the couple decided to move once more.
After relocating, they found Denton to be the home they'd been looking for, full of fun, culture and new friends. Morrissey settled into Communication Studies and her position teaching rhetoric to both undergraduate and graduate students and Aglio accepted a position in UNT's Women and Gender Studies program.
The couple welcomed their daughter, Quinn, in April 2017 and her adoption was finalized on Jan. 12.
“Denton and UNT definitely surprised us in the best ways,” Aglio says. “We love this community and are proud to call it home!”
Miranda and Jon Holland
The Hollands met online in July 2015. Miranda lived in Dallas at the time and Jon lived near Denton. Their first date was on July 3 at Twisted Root Burger Co. in Carrollton and they immediately hit it off—their first date lasted 10 hours.
Jon proposed at the Dallas Arboretum in February of 2016 and he and Miranda were married on Nov. 26, 2016. They love UNT so much that they incorporated emerald green into their wedding to commemorate the university. They live just outside of Denton along with their three cats, three dogs and five chickens.
Jon graduated from UNT in 2009 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in Visual Art Studies. He started working for UNT in 2006 while he was a student, and is currently a Senior Web Developer for the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment and Redesign (CLEAR).
“I love the environment here,” Jon says. “In a way, I get to contribute to the overall experience that students have and that is something they'll remember the rest of their lives.”
Miranda is from Dallas and graduated from Texas A&M University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies. Immediately after graduating, she launched an event planning company which she led for almost five years. After meeting Jon, learning about the atmosphere at UNT and hearing great things about the students, faculty and staff, Miranda decided she also wanted to work at the university. She accepted a position as the Alumni Relations Coordinator and Marketing Specialist for TAMS and the Honors College on Jan. 4 this year.
“I love the camaraderie that UNT has and I wanted to be a part of that,” Miranda says. “I love working at UNT because I not only get to work alongside wonderful and talented faculty and staff, but I also have the opportunity to interact with TAMS and Honors College students and alumni. It's my job to help them stay connected to one other and to the university and I couldn't be happier.”