Maddy O’Malley, ‘18, and Jack Bechtel, ‘20, are both very involved on Wittenberg’s campus. O’Malley is Vice President of Student Senate, President of Lesotho Nutrition Initiative, Head of Build a Better Wittenberg, a Tiger Health Educator, a member of senior class cabinet and a member of Sigma Kappa. Bechtel is Vice President for member development for Delta Tau Delta, Vice President of the Frolf Club, a part of the sophomore class cabinet, a part of Lesotho Nutrition Initiative and plays club soccer.
Their love sparked while they were playing soccer for Wittenberg’s Intermural Soccer club and it continues to flourish as they have risen to power as one of campus’s most well-known power couples.
As I sat with them on the day that they met exactly one year before, both O’Malley and Bechtel were relaxed and comfortable during our conversation. Everyone in the room could see the love in their eyes as they looked at each other intently after each question. O’Malley had her hand on his knee and each spoke with a loving tone, thinking about how their relationship developed over the past 10 months and how they got to where they are now.
O’Malley recounted her first impression of Bechtel, describing him as funny and easy-going.
“I thought Jack was really cute and he was so funny and really easy to talk to from the get-go,” O’Malley said. “I was like, wow, I want to talk to him more and one of the first times we were hanging out, there was never a dull moment which was pretty remarkable considering it was our first time hanging out.”
Bechtel said that when he met O’Malley, he initially thought she was a great person.
“I thought she was awesome at first… all my friends were like oh my gosh she’s so cool… and then we hung out and I thought she was awesome and I still think that,” Bechtel said.
Despite O’Malley having to work most of Valentine’s Day, Bechtel mentioned that he has an entire day full of activities planned for her. He wanted to keep most of the details under wraps to surprise her when the day comes, but he did bring up a meal at Applebee’s and that he would be surprising her with “little boops and bops throughout the day.” O’Malley said that she appreciates how flexible and how sweet his plans are because Applebee’s is her favorite place to go for a date.
The couple are both avid hikers and they love tubing. Their favorite thing to do is watch “Grey’s Anatomy” and eat cheese together. It was clear from our short, 20-minute interview that they are madly in love, but O’Malley showed just how above and beyond their relationship is when she said just how much Bechtel means to her.
“Jack is my absolute best friend and most supportive person in my life and I would not be able to do anything post-graduation if it wasn’t for him having my back every step of the way,” O’Malley said.
