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| About Ben & Arrion
Our engagement... September 24, 2000
Sedona, Arizona |
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Arrion was born in Iowa City, Iowa and
spent her early years growing up in Des Moines. While in junior high her
family moved to Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from Canyon Del Oro High
School in 1988. She attended University of Arizona in Tucson and graduated
with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1992. After graduation, she
moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she started a career in higher education.
At the University of Phoenix, she was an Academic Counselor and at Arizona
State University she was the Director of Student Services for the
Full-Time MBA Program. After six years in Phoenix, she was eager to move
toward the mid-west (green trees, green grass, and rolling hills). Arrion
is currently the Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Communications
for graduate programs at the McCombs School of Business, at The University
of Texas at Austin. She's been in Austin since 1998. See update below. |
| Ben was born in Urbana,
Illinois and grew up in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated from Sacred
Heart Griffin High School in 1992. He attended the University of Illinois
at Urbana/Champaign and graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in
1996. During his college career, he spent time in Minneapolis on
internship with 3M and in Cincinnati with Proctor and Gamble. Upon
graduation, he moved to Cincinnati and worked on the Cascade product
development team for Proctor and Gamble. In 1997, he decided to go back to
school and enrolled in the Chemical Engineering program at The University
of Texas where he'll graduate with a doctorate degree in the summer of
2001. See update below. |
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Halloween 1999
Dr. Evil and Mini Me |
Ben and Arrion met in the
summer of 1999 in a tennis class through the University of Texas at
Austin. After meeting to play tennis on a very hot July morning, Ben asked
Arrion out to dinner! The rest is history. They enjoy traveling together,
going to movies, watching sports, and most recently… planning a wedding,
discussing future job opportunities, and researching possible relocation
to one of several cities (Ben's had interviews in Dallas, Portland, San
Jose, Austin, Vermont, New York, and even some interest from a company in
Stockholm, Sweden). Both are very close to their families and have even
managed to bring them together for Thanksgiving two years in a row! |
| Arrion's parents are
originally from Coon Rapids, Iowa. Today, they can be found in Emporia, KS
where her dad Bill is an Associate Professor at the Emporia State
University School of Business and her mom Nancy takes care of the
operational side of the family business, Vision to Action (founded by
sister Annette Lamb and her husband Larry Johnson.) Arrion has two older
sisters; Dr. Annette Lamb, who is an independent educational consultant
and publisher; and Allison James, who is a trainer in reservations for
American Airlines. Annette travels a great deal and lives in an RV
full-time. Allison lives in Tucson, AZ in a normal apartment. |
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Ben's parents are originally
from Wisconsin and Illinois. His dad Andy grew up in Two Rivers, WI and
his mom Brenda in Shelbyville, IL. They met while his dad was attending
graduate school in Urbana/Champaign. Andy is an environmental engineer and
is currently President of Andrews Engineering, a consulting firm
headquartered in Springfield. Brenda, is a homemaker and works part-time
in a boutique. Ben has a younger sister, Sarah, who is currently a
freshman at Sacred Heart Griffin High School. |
UPDATE -
1/5/01: Ben recently accepted a position at Texas Instruments in Dallas.
He will start sometime in the summer of 2001 after completing his degree
in Austin. Arrion recently accepted a position as Associate Director of
MBA Admissions at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist
University (SMU) in Dallas. She will start working in Dallas in
mid-January of 2001.
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