College offers students a space for meeting new people, making friends and making connections. It can act as a time for people to have experiences they may have never gone through before and become exposed to a plethora of places and people from all walks of life.
This influential time in college can also provide the opportunity to form romantic relationships and fall in love. Some students will meet the love of their lives; others will meet someone they hope to be their life partner. For two Pepperdine couples, being together in a university setting deepens not only their connection to their faith but their love for one another.
“[Love is] not just a physical attraction or an attraction to someone’s mindset or personality,” junior Stephen Weinstock said. “For me, love is the desire to see the best for someone outside of yourself and, maybe, in spite of yourself.”
Lexington and Stephen’s Shuttle Stop Meet-Cute
Wandering around Smothers Theatre, lost and confused, junior Stephen Weinstock asked junior Lexington Russell for directions to the nearest shuttle stop during their first year of college in 2021.
“I was immediately taken by her beauty,” Weinstock said. “I would say it was love at first sight. We just hit it off.”
As the two started chatting, they both walked to the shuttle, and he dropped her off at her class at the Center for Communication and Business.
After she got off the shuttle, Weinstock turned to the friend he was with and told him about how they hit it off. Weinstock wanted to ask Russell out. Coincidentally, when Weinstock and his friend returned to campus after a trip to Trader Joe’s, he and Russell met on the shuttle again.
“I went, ‘This is it; this is fate,’ and I got her contact information,” Weinstock said.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing from then on. Weinstock discovered that Russell had been in a relationship with someone from high school at the time.
“I marked it as a lost affair,” Weinstock said.
About a year later, Russell’s romantic relationship from high school ended. As the spring semester of 2022 approached, Russell reached out to Weinstock again, and the two began hanging out.
“Everything I felt during that interaction at the shuttle stop before immediately came back, and we completely hit it off and spent the remainder of the school year doing everything under the sun together,” Russell said.
The two took a spontaneous trip to San Francisco in the middle of the day and went to Joshua Tree, California, and other regional spots during the end of their first year of college.
“We did fall in love in those five weeks, I would say,” Russell said. “We quickly started dating after that, and it’s been history ever since.”
Now juniors, the pair’s relationship has flourished as they have both learned to navigate their romantic love alongside their love for God. Russell said attending a Christian institution was a priority because she wanted to strengthen her faith.
“Meeting Stephen and realizing that he had that similar identity and also was a follower who prioritized living a life that glorified Christ made our relationship so much more sweet,” Russell said.
Looking back on his first year and the time since they began dating, Weinstock said he finally saw all the ways a Christian relationship can strengthen someone’s personal relationship with the Lord. This changed the way Weinstock said he views friendships, familial relationships and romantic relationships.
“We’re not perfect,” Weinstock said. “We are very far from perfect, but just being able to love each other through our imperfections — being able to disagree without attacking each other, being able to solve the problem without an easy exit — it just shows that we are in this for the long run. We are looking to love each other more like Christ every day.”
The pair said being able to see each other every day while in the same grade is a blessing, and both Russell and Weinstock said graduating at the same time will allow them to plan their next steps in sync.
“I would definitely say I prefer to be in the same college as my partner and be able to grow up together,” Russell said. “I think it’s a really sweet experience.”
Russell recalled a time from a past Valentine’s Day when Weinstock did not have a car, so he walked miles to get her flowers for the holiday. This is just one of many instances when he demonstrated his generosity.
Russell went on to speak on Weinstock’s integrity and said he always seeks to be very honest about his feelings, his experiences and his life.
“He never cuts corners, and he’s the type of person who picks up trash when no one is looking and always chooses to do the right thing,” Russell said.
Russell expressed her appreciation for Weinstock’s loyalty, whether it is toward his family, his cats or herself.
As for Weinstock’s favorite qualities about Russell, he said he loves her compassion, stating that she has a special and unique love for all people.
“She genuinely has very deep compassion and willingness and openness to love. It’s something I aspire to grow towards,” Weinstock said.
Weinstock appreciates Russell’s optimism. He said he is a realist rather than a pessimist, but Russell’s positive demeanor allows him to view the world in a better light.
“If she was like me, this would never work because I need someone to remind me there is good in the world, that people aren’t all bad and that things are going to be okay,” Weinstock said.
Weinstock said Russell beautifully displays the sense of inner peace that comes with optimism, and he strives to be more like her in that regard. Weinstock also loves her deep wisdom. Russell is someone anyone can come to for advice — personal or spiritual — and he loves her openness to helping others.
When the pair gets into disagreements, Russell said communication is key. As long as the two are upfront and vulnerable about their emotions, there is no scenario too difficult to get through.
“Even if we’re not right, we just like to disclose where it is we are coming from and why we feel the way we do,” Weinstock said.
Even on their hardest days, Weinstock said he still desires the best for Russell. It’s an active emotion rather than an emotional feeling, and the love he has for Russell is wonderful and indescribable.
“There’s been ups and downs, but it’s [the love is] undeniable,” Russell said. “There’s just an abundance of love for the other person. It surpasses all understanding, truly.”
After dating exclusively for two years, the pair celebrated their anniversary on April 5. On any given day, their love makes them excited to wake up, Weinstock said.
Kira and Brandon’s Kindling Romance
Junior Kira Landis and senior Brandon Olson have been together for a year and a half. The two first met when they were both working at Pepperdine’s Special Programs over the summer. Olson said he remembers walking into the building and seeing Landis working the front desk.
“In my head, I said, ‘Woah, I need to talk to her,’” Olson said. “She was so beautiful, and I just really wanted to get to know her.”
Olson tried his best to talk to Landis, asking her about her studies and what she was interested in. Later on in their conversation, Olson spoke about his time spent in the military prior to attending college.
From that point on, whenever he was at work with Landis, he found intermittent windows of time to talk to her and slowly got to know her before finally asking her out.
The pair went on their first date at Ralphs Beach in Malibu under the understanding that they would surf together.
“I said I wanted to surf; she told me she wanted to surf too, but I had no idea how to surf,” Olson said, chuckling. “But I said, ‘We’re going to learn together.’”
The day of the date finally came, but Olson’s roommate needed his surfboard that day. He said he was thankful he wouldn’t actually have to surf, and Landis was more than willing to simply converse at the beach instead. The two spoke about God and their futures and had an amazing date.
The pair are both English majors and belong to organizations such as the Ambassador Council and Housing and Residence Life. Both said their involvement in campus life has been a positive experience.
“People know us as a team because we’re together a lot, and we do the same things,” Landis said. “Our likes are so similar, and we love doing everything together.”
Both Landis and Olson agreed their faith and work lives have only grown since they became a couple.
“Being at this school has strengthened our faith, and while I can’t speak to what being at school together would be like at another place, it’s helped our identity within our relationship at Pepperdine specifically,” Olson said. “We talk about our beliefs — what this [Bible] verse or that verse means — and, overall, it’s brought us closer together.”
Olson beamed when he described his love for Landis’ kind heart and expressed his admiration for her compassion.
“She’s so kind, very empathetic, understanding and patient,” Olson said. “Those are some very beautiful traits of Kira.”
Meanwhile, Landis said she loves Olson’s energy and loving nature.
“He’s hardworking, whether with school or work — just everything he puts into our relationship,” Landis said. “He’s also sacrificial and sacrifices a lot for me, for us, for everyone.”
When the duo faces tumultuous times, they said communication is extremely important, whether during disagreements or controversial conversations.
“We talk through everything,” Landis said. “If you feel any sort of way, clarify that in the moment.”
Aiming to get to the heart of the concern, Olson does his best to understand where he and Landis may be coming from and talk through whatever it is they are discussing.
For Olson, love is an action and a sacrifice. He said being patient, understanding and kind toward all is a strong way to show love. Landis agreed and said her love for Olson embodies this kind of love.
“I describe my love for Brandon by saying, ‘It’s easy,’” Landis said. “Life isn’t easy; relationships aren’t easy, but loving him is so easy to do.”
Landis exclaimed loving Olson is like her “sixth sense” and comes to her like a second nature. She said she used to never think she could experience a love like this, but she is happy to have been proven wrong.
“Loving is about forgiveness, and I learn how to love deeper because of Kira,” Olson said. “Who she is teaches me to be more loving, and I become a better person because of her. I learned how to forgive, how to be understanding and how to be more kind. My love for her is alive.”
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Contact Emma Ibarra via email: emma.ibarra@pepperdine.edu
