Roommates Relive the Moments That Bound Them for a Lifetime

RELIVING THE GLORY DAYS

Squeezing two random 18-year-olds and all their stuff into small quarters for five months sometimes leaves room­mates with strained patience and stories of woe to tell their future children. But for many, this shared experience during these formative years forges a camaraderie that lasts a lifetime.

"Blessed" is how Jennifer (Harper) Butenschoen '08 de­scribes her living situation in college. She didn't have one, but two roommates she’s remained close to throughout the years—Monica Bender '07 and Stephanie Bernard '08. The three share sweet memories of doing typical college activities together, like the weekend trip they took with a big group of friends to a cabin in Oklaho­ma, where they bonded by playing games, exploring the land and sitting around the campfire. After a fun day, the three girls retreated upstairs, laughing for hours until they finally drifted off to sleep.

“The sweetest memory I have of my roommates is chatting and giggling in bed at night,” Jennifer said. “It was always so fun to go to sleep next to a good friend.”

She remembers how she and Monica took turns telling each other silly bedtime stories each night in their room. “We’d giggle and laugh until we cried most nights.”

One of Jennifer's favorite memories about living with Stephanie was Stephanie’s determination to find Jennifer the “perfect man,” which she succeeded in doing after introducing her to Dean '09, whom she married shortly after graduation.

“Stephanie would secretly invite us both to hang out at different places, and I’d show up, and there he was!” Jennifer recalled. “We eventually got to know each other in these hangouts, and the rest is history!”

For more than a decade since leaving UMHB, the trio and their husbands and children gather each July at Monica’s house to reminisce and catch up. Plans al­ways include lunch together but almost always extend long into the evening as they catch up on careers, kids and marriage.

Finding her lifelong friends in college meant so much to Jennifer, and it’s hard to imagine a different college experience.

“You’re learning how to become an adult; you’re on your own for the first time; you’re growing in responsibilities. It’s all so special and hard and fun. The friendships that see you through all those transi­tions are so special—there’s such a bond,” she said. “I love that I’m still friends with Stephanie and Monica because they have seen me through every second of my adult life. We may not talk every day, but we’ve consoled each other through losses, miscarriages, babies being born, changing careers and everything in between.”

LIFELONG FRIENDS

Conrad Rodriguez ‘93 and Sergio Martinez ‘95 became friends on the soccer field, playing for UMHB. Conrad lived at home in Belton his freshman year and often invited Sergio to his house for lunch between classes. During the off-season, the two played in recreational leagues, traveling together every weekend for games in Austin or Waco. The following year, the two decided to room together at the College View apartments and were inseparable (which

sometimes became a point of contention

with their girlfriends).

Their days together in college were

amazing, but shortly after graduation, Sergio moved to Mexico to pursue a business opportunity, and they lost track of each other.

The most amazing coincidence happened several years later, though. Conrad had been working his dream job as a state trooper in Waco and was at the Waco airport as security for President George Bush when he sudden­ly heard someone yelling his name. Sergio, who was part of the entourage of the Mexican president, had just landed in Waco. Conrad was shocked to run into his buddy again and even more surprised over what seemed like a remarkable coincidence that both were working for presidents!

A few years later, Conrad, who was living in Rock­wall, discovered that Sergio was back in Texas, living in Austin. He hit the road for a visit (since they only had a moment to say “hello” in Waco when they ran into each other). Even after living thousands of miles apart for years and getting married and having kids, when the two reconnected, it was as if they hadn’t missed a day. “We were still laughing, cutting up and making fun of each other,” Conrad said. The two now get together at least once or twice each year, sharing old memories and making new ones.

Conrad says his college days probably would have been “much more boring” if he hadn’t had Sergio to share that part of his life with, and he couldn’t imagine now not having him to relive the fun moments.

“Having somebody like Sergio to reconnect with is awesome,” he said. “It’s like having a brother you didn’t have growing up.”

THE TEST OF TIME

When college roommates become lifelong friends, every get-together becomes a walk down memory lane. But multiply that by five (four roommates and an honorary roommate), and the memories are endless. Just ask Class of 1998 roommates Kathryn (Byrum) Sowell, Melissa (Millikan) Bell, Tamra (Kemp) Lewis and Lori Bundrick-Hasse and their “honorary roommate,”

Danielle (Hudspeth) King (who lived in another dorm). When these five united recently at Homecoming 2023, the stories started flowing—like the time they lived in Burt Hall and maintenance workers busted a huge hole in their shower wall to fix a leak. The girls stuffed items, including a current issue of “The Bells” newspaper, into a homemade time capsule and hid it deep in the wall before it was sealed back up.

Lori loved how they used to write scriptures and messages in dry-erase markers on the tiles to encourage each other. Danielle laughed about the huge mud hole they played in one year at Play Day. Covered from head to toe in slimy soil, they headed to their rooms at Burt to de-mud themselves and got caught by their RD, Rebeka Retta. “GIRLS!” she yelled at them as they tracked mud all the way to their rooms. Melissa cherishes the memories from their senior trip to Galveston, and the nights each of them chipped in to cook a big meal together. Thirty years later, Kath­eryn’s mom’s chicken pot pie recipe is still in regular rotation at Tamra’s dinner table.

30 YEARS FROM NOW

This past summer, freshmen Charlee Northrup and Chloe Galvez met at a cheer clinic just before their first semester on campus and decided to room together.

“Neither of us were coming in with a roommate,” said Char­lee, a nursing major. “We had similar schedules since we’re both cheerleaders, and we could help each other get ready for games and keep each other accountable for time.”

It was a match made in heaven. Charlee feels they grew closer over the semester, to the point they can tell each other almost anything.

“Being roommates with Chloe is honestly an answered prayer,” she said. “I had been praying for a roommate that I would get along with and that would help me in my relationship with the Lord.”

If she could look into the future 30 years from now, she sees them doing life together, just as the others in this story have.

“Having a close relationship with your roommate in college is a blessing,” Charlee said. “If you don’t have a good relationship, then it almost ruins your college experience. It is hard to have a good time when you and your roommate don’t get along.”

Even though she’s still a freshman, Charlee has heard horror stories from other friends who never clicked like she and Chloe.

“After hearing these, I am so much more thankful that God gave me Chloe as my first roommate. She has made my first semester here at UMHB one to remember!”