For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: February 14, 2023
Cupid brings couple to campus for 25th anniversary
Fennimore -
AJ and Bridget Schuchart returned to an Accounting/Business Management classroom during their visit to campus on Jan. 20. Left-right: AJ, Bridget, Kiley Kelly, Accounting student and SWAT (Southwest Accounting Team) President; Kyle Bennett, Recruitment Manager; and Melinda Nicely, Accounting Instructor.
Late last month, Bridget and AJ Schuchart returned to where it all started – Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. After enrolling in the Accounting program in the fall of 1997, the couple met on campus during the spring semester of 1998. They recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip back to Southwest Tech. “Because we did meet here it will always hold a special place,” said Bridget.
Bridget and AJ Schuchart presented a check for $250 to the SWAT (Southwest Accounting Team) during their visit. Left-right: CoraBeth Schmitz, Student Financial Assistance Manager; Kyle Bennett, Recruitment Manager; Bridget, Kiley Kelly, Accounting Student and SWAT President; AJ, and Melinda Nicely, Accounting Instructor.
The couple didn’t meet immediately. Bridget was able to test out of the initial accounting class during the first semester. In the spring semester of 1998, she joined AJ in the accounting class. AJ admitted he was quite shy at the time, so it was up to a friend of his to introduce him to Bridget. “I was more of a reserved person and I was focused on, Ok, it’s my break time, I need to get my homework done,” said Bridget. “Then I got introduced to him and they were like, ‘let’s go to lunch.’”
“We had a lot of lunches together,” said AJ.
The couple didn’t start dating right away. They were friends at first. “He tells our kids, ‘I chased your mom forever before she agreed to go out with me,’” said Bridget.
“It definitely took a while,” joked AJ.
Kyle Bennett, Recruitment Manager, shows off the Knox Learning Center to AJ and Bridget Schuchart during their visit.
Bridget is originally from Darlington, Wisconsin, while AJ is from Cuba City, Wisconsin, and his friend is from Hazel Green, Wisconsin. They would meet in Platteville and ride together to campus. They graduated together in the spring of 1999. AJ and Bridget were married in June 2000, one year after graduating with an associate degrees in Accounting from Southwest Tech. They currently reside in Darlington. “We got married and here we are, three kids and three grandbabies later,” said Bridget.
Reflecting on their time on campus, the couple certainly recognizes the changes. They noted, while at Southwest Tech, they spent most of their time in the classroom, the cafeteria and outside during lunch. “We talked and we were content with that,” said Bridget.
“We enjoyed our time here,” said Bridget. “We met a lot of people here. The gal that introduced us, we’re still friends with her. She was in our wedding.”
Melinda Nicely (left), Accounting Instructor, and Kiley Kelly, Accounting Student and SWAT (Southwest Accounting Team) president, talk with Bridget and AJ Schuchart about the Account program and SWAT.
Coming back to campus nearly 25 years later made sense to the couple – back to where their life together started. “Let’s go back to the beginning and see how it has evolved and see how time has changed,” said Bridget.
“It was a great choice for me,” said Bridget. “If I had to go back 25 years and do it all over I’d still pick to come here.”
Bridget was hired before she graduated and currently works for Iowa County in the finance department. AJ has worked in various capacities with Colony Brands in Monroe, Wisconsin. He is currently the global logistics manager. Following Southwest Tech, he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. “A lot of what I do ties back to my accounting roots,” said AJ.
Their visit to campus wasn’t solely to reminisce. The couple also donated $250 to SWAT (Southwest Accounting Team). The $250 represents their 25-year anniversary. Bridget is a member of the Accounting Advisory Board on campus. She hears about all the great opportunities that are presented to the students and she and AJ wanted to contribute to those efforts. “Looking back, I wish I had those opportunities, so it’s important to me that they keep having those,” she said. “It’s giving back to where we started our life.”
- More information about the college’s Accounting program can be found at www.swtc.edu/accounting.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, a finalist for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |