Love is in the air across Bloomington this Valentine’s Day, but not just in candlelit dinners in town. Beyond lectures and office hours, eight faculty couples are celebrating too. The Indiana Daily Student spoke with them to learn more about their traditions.
Matt Bochman and Julia van Kessel
Matt Bochman and Julia van Kessel have been together for 20 years. Bochman, an associate professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry, and van Kessel, associate professor of biology, became friends in graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. The couple started dating in 2006 and got married in 2009. They did their post-doctoral research together at Princeton University before coming to Indiana University to teach in 2013.
Matt Bochman and Julia van Kessel graduate from the University of Pittsburgh after completing their graduate programs. The two met at the University of Pittsburgh and started dating in 2006.
They wanted to work in the same place at the same time, Bochman said.
Because they don’t work in the same building and have busy schedules, they don’t see each other much at work, van Kessel said.
“We try to go out for lunch once a month or two, twice a month if we can do it,” van Kessel said.
Van Kessel’s favorite memories of their relationship are from camping trips. Bochman’s favorite memory was when the two went to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
The couple has four children, aged 14, 12 and 7-year-old twins.
Matt Bochman and Julia van Kessel have a drink together at an outdoor festival. The two have enjoyed visiting different breweries together and share a love for beer.
Bochman and van Kessel share a love for beer and breweries. They frequent Upland Brewing Company and Heartwork Brewing in Bloomington.
Bochman said they also enjoy taking their kids to Mother Bear’s Pizza.
For Valentine’s Day, the couple has a tradition of making dessert and occasionally going out to dinner.
“Matt will make some fancy dessert, that is usually something he does,” van Kessel said. “I think this weekend he was just saying he’s making chocolate lava cakes, and I’m told we’re going out to dinner.”
Kevin and Laura Brown
Chemistry professors Kevin Brown and Laura Brown have been together since 2004, when they met in graduate school at Boston College. They met two years earlier when they joined the same research group in their doctorate programs.
Laura and Kevin Brown pose for a photo in 2007 in Boston. The Browns attended graduate school at Boston College, where they met in 2002.
Following graduation and their wedding, both of which happened in 2008, the couple did their post-doctorate research at Harvard University before finding positions at IU’s chemistry department in 2011.
“I love working at the same place,” Laura wrote in an email. “Our days have gotten progressively busier as the years go by, but we enjoy being around each other, and it’s nice to know he’s just upstairs if I ever want to see him.”
They made their favorite memories as a couple in Boston, where they lived together and took trips to New Hampshire while completing their post-doctoral positions, Laura wrote.
The couple has two children, ages 13 and 11.
“Our favorite family memories are from trips together, especially the ones centered on national parks,” Laura wrote.
Laura and Kevin Brown, along with their two kids, hike to the top of Mount Marcy in Adirondack Park, New York in summer 2025. The family has enjoyed going on trips together to visit national parks.
The couple does not make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, Laura said. However, Kevin and their son usually make dinner while Laura and their daughter make dessert.
For this year’s Valentine’s Day, Kevin and Laura have plans to see comedian and actor Nate Bargatze in Indianapolis.
Ryan Comfort and Suzannah Evans Comfort
Media School assistant professors Ryan Comfort and Suzannah Evans Comfort have been married for 10 years.
The two met in 2012 through their journalism graduate program at the University of North Carolina. They got married in 2016 and moved to IU the same year.
Ryan Comfort and Suzannah Evans Comfort attend their first IU basketball game together in 2017. Ryan wore a University of Wisconsin-Madison shirt to represent his university.
While Suzannah began her teaching career, Ryan worked in the College of Arts and Sciences as the director of diversity and inclusion. He left that job to pursue his doctorate in media arts and sciences from IU before joining the Media School faculty as an assistant professor in 2021.
“It certainly wasn’t the plan to work in the same department in the same building, but it’s been okay, we get along quite well,” Suzannah said.
Their first years in the same department were an adjustment, since they worked together professionally for the first time, Suzannah said.
“Figuring out how to have a personal relationship and a professional relationship has been interesting and a good challenge for any married couple, I think,” Suzannah said. “We’ve figured it out and luckily in our jobs we have some degree of autonomy, in terms of how much we want to work directly together.”
Outside of work, the Comforts enjoy going for walks at the Rogers Family Park in Bloomington with their two dogs. They are also regulars at the Cloverleaf Family Restaurant.
Suzannah Evans Comfort and Ryan Comfort complete a five-day hike in summer 2025 the Lake District of England. The two met in 2012 through their journalism graduate program at the University of North Carolina.
For Suzannah, ‘through hiking,’ a kind of long-distance hiking, in Northern England during the summer of 2025 is her favorite memory with her husband.
Ryan’s favorite memory is from their wedding day.
“A few hours prior to the ceremony I needed to stop by the house to pick up a tie,” Ryan wrote in an email. “Suzannah was there getting ready. Up to that point I had been increasingly nervous, but when I walked in and saw her, I immediately felt more relaxed and at ease. Everything would be fine. I found out later she felt the same. That's how I knew I found the right person.”
The couples’ usual Valentine’s Day plans involve spending time together and making dinner at home.
John and Sarah Hill
John Hill, a clinical professor and faculty chair of the full time master of business administration program, and lecturer Sarah Hill have been married for 25 years.
John works for the Kelley School of Business while Sarah works in the Department of Chemistry.
The two met through a bible study while attending Michigan Technological University during their undergraduate studies in 1997.
John and Sarah Hill take on the Sky Ride at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio in 1998. The two began dating the year prior.
Sarah’s favorite memory together is Valentine’s Day 1997, when John showed up at her dorm with a half a dozen roses.
John’s favorite memories of their relationship were from attending graduate school with Sarah at the University of Iowa from 2003-09.
The couple has four children, ages 21, 19, 17 and 12.
They taught together at Michigan Technological University for four years. In the fall of 2013, while Sarah was pregnant with their fourth child, they moved to IU, where John had a teaching position at the Kelley School of Business.
Sarah began teaching at IU in 2018.
“We make it a point to meet up for lunch whenever we can, so he’ll walk right past my building and snag me on the way, and we’ll go down to Kirkwood and have lunch,” Sarah said.
The couple’s favorite spots in Bloomington are Lennie’s and Nick’s English Hut on Kirkwood. On campus, the couple frequents the IU Auditorium and the Musical Arts Center.
The couple does not have Valentine’s Day traditions.
Peter Hollenhorst and Heather Hundley
Peter Hollenhorst, a professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology, and biology professor Heather Hundley have been married for 20 years and have been together for 25.
The two met in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000, where they worked in labs together.
Peter Hollenhorst and Heather Hundley pose for a photo at their wedding in 2006 in Springfield Illinois. The two met in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000.
Hundley and Hollenhorst moved to Utah following their graduate degrees.
Hundley and Hollenhorst’s favorite memories together are from camping trips in the national parks in Utah.
The couple moved to IU in 2010, where they taught in the same building for over a decade.
“I would say for the first probably 12 years we were here, we actually had adjoining labs and so we saw each other every day, many times a day,” Hundley said.
The couple now has labs on different floors and may go a few days without seeing each other on campus.
Peter Hollenhorst and Heather Hundley pose for a photo on a bench in November, 2025, Seville, Spain. The two went on the trip with their two sons, Bryce and Evan Hollenhorst.
Hollenhorst and Hundley enjoy spending time with their neighbors in Bloomington, and one of their favorite spots in town is C3, a cocktail bar and restaurant.
“Our Valentine’s Day tradition is to never go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, the day before or the day after,” Hollenhorst said.
Bonnie and Steve Layton
Bonnie Layton, Media School honors director and senior lecturer, and Media School senior lecturer Steve Layton have been together for 37 years.
The couple met at the University of Florida in the late 1980s, where Bonnie worked as a teaching assistant in a class Steve took.
The two bonded over a shared interest in the graphics of journalism design, Layton said.
Bonnie and Steve Layton smile for a photo in 1990. The two have been together since 1989, after meeting at the University of Florida.
After university, Bonnie began teaching at the University of Illinois while Steve worked at The Desert Sun newspaper in Southern California.
“We’d gone sort of, our separate ways as people do, you know, after they leave college,” Steve said. “I don’t even remember how this happened, but at some point, we started talking.”
Bonnie says that Steve called her one day and then they kept in contact after that.
“I left California to go to Illinois,” Steve said. “Really, the only reason I did that was so that we would be, you know, driving distance apart.”
The Laytons got married in 2000, two years after purchasing their first house in 1998. They had two children soon after.
The couple started their IU teaching career together in 2010.
Today, they teach some of the same courses at the Media School. Steve said they enjoy collaborating on the courses they have in common, like Story Lab and graphic design courses.
Steve and Bonnie Layton are pictured in July 2025 on a trip to Croatia. The couple began teaching at IU in 2010 and both work in the same department.
Bonnie’s favorite memory was the night Steve moved from California to Illinois because they would no longer have to live a long distance apart.
Their favorite place on campus is Ernie Pyle Hall, where they worked when they first moved to IU.
“That’s where, you know we were first able to be together in our jobs,” Bonnie said.
The couple does not have Valentine’s Day traditions.
Kimberly Rosvall and Richard Phillips
Richard Phillips and Kimberly Rosvall have been together since 2009. Phillips is a professor of biology, evolution, ecology and behavior graduate program director and research and teaching preserve science director, while Rosvall is an associate professor of biology.
The two met at Duke University in 2005, when Rosvall was a graduate student and Phillips was doing post-doctoral work.
Phillips came to IU to teach in 2008; Rosvall joined the following year for her post-doctoral research.
“I had a grant to come to IU to learn some new techniques for my research and, like I said, I was coming from Duke, I had all of these mutual friends that were really good friends with Rich,” Rosvall said.
For Rosvall, her favorite memory was bringing their first child home.
“I remember going to our house and there was nobody else there except us and this, like, baby, that apparently we made,” Rosvall said. “I just remember thinking ‘we did it!’”
Rosvall and Phillips have two daughters in elementary school.
Phillip’s favorite memory of the two was Halloween 2011, when they dressed as escaped animals from a zoo.
The couple got engaged three weeks later, Phillips wrote over email. The couple and their kids enjoy making a charcuterie board for every holiday, including Valentine’s Day.
Jeremy and Katie Siek
Jeremy Siek, professor and director of the Center for Programming Systems, and professor of informatics Katie Siek have been together since 2000.
The couple got married in 2004, after meeting in graduate school at Notre Dame.
Jeremy and Katie Siek tie the knot at their wedding in 2004. The couple met in 2000 at University of Notre Dame, where they were both attending graduate school.
The couple then taught at the University of Colorado Boulder for six years before moving to IU to teach in 2013.
Katie fondly remembers the semester Jeremy took off in 2012 to take care of their 6-month-old baby.
“He made a little sacrifice with his career by taking off a semester to take care of our child, and then our child had such a close bond,” Katie said.
Jeremy’s favorite memory was taking Katie skiing for the first time in Switzerland.
The couple’s favorite spot in Bloomington is the trail around Griffy Lake. They also used to frequent Saturday morning brunch at Feast Market and Cellar, which closed in 2024.
Every year, the couple makes a heart shaped pizza on Valentine’s Day as a family.
Jeremy and Katie Siek pose for a photo at the west end of Griffy Lake in 2023. The couple moved to Bloomington in 2013.
