By Jewelia Zaragoza
From resident assistants to newlyweds.
Jacob and Sarah Vincent were students at Simpson University. Resident Assistants. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Now husband and wife. They are starting a marriage while living on a college campus.
Sarah Vincent was a transfer student from Butte College in Chico, CA. She was looking for a Christ-centered school. She came to Simpson in the Fall of 2021.
“I came to Simpson, it was the closest one,” Sarah Vincent said.
Sarah transferred in as a junior. Within her first few weeks at Simpson, an RA position opened in the freshman dorm. Sarah applied and had an interview right away. She got the position the following day. The next year, she reapplied for the same postion and got it. She became an RA for the upperclassmen dorms.
“I decided to reapply because I love the job. I felt like it gave me a really good way into meeting people,” Sarah explained, “I was asked to be at a lot of events but that helped me to really be social and get out and about. And I feel like that’s how I really made so many connections with people at Simpson.”
“Also, it’s a great scholarship, it’s got a lot of benefits, so, it was a pretty easy decision for me to do it again,” Sarah added.
“If I had been here longer, I think I would have kept doing it. I really did enjoy that job.” Sarah said.
Jacob came to Simpson as a freshman and was an RA for two years. He then became a part of student government his last year as a student at Simpson. He graduated in the Spring of 2024.
“Every once in a while, I get the person that asks, ‘Do you still come here?’, well, I come here for work” Jacob said.
Jacob is now the Area Coordinator for Measell-Taylor and Cooper-Heath.
“I think that most students are used to me being in a sort of leadership role and I feel like the transition, even though I went to school with a bunch if these people, are for the most part all pretty cool about it. They are willing to respect that transition which makes it easier,” Jacob explained.
Jacob oversees a team of RAs. He coaches them, works with them, helps them handle throughout the school year. He is also in charge of the games and music at tailgates.
Jacob and Sarah met at Simpson University. They were on separate RA teams but were able to build a relationship from that connection.
“We were on different teams, but we had a lot of events together and so we just became friends. We were friends for, I don’t know, 5-6 months and yeah, we started dating,” Sarah said, “Friends first and then we were RAs together so we kind of did everything together. I think that aspect really helped us. And we were just excited to start dating.”
Sarah explained that it has been fun coming back to Simpson as a non-student. She gets to see the events and the activities through the eyes of someone who just lives on campus. Jacob and Sarah get to open their home. They get to have dinner with students.
“I think it is a really cool opportunity to stay connected with people our age and also make a space where they can come and have a dinner that is homemade or just hang out with people that are near their age,” Sarah said.
After moving back into the dorms, as a shared space, it can be hard getting used to it. But Sarah said that she loves living on campus.
They have a decently sized apartment in Cooper-Heath. Sarah Vincent works at an elementary school so is gone throughout the day. Jacob gets his work on campus in the Student Development office. Jacob and Sarah work long days. They go home and act like they would anywhere else. They watch football, watch TV, make dinner, and live life together.
“It is advantageous place to be for a young couple where we can live on campus and put away some money for later in life.” Jacob said.
Since they have been students at Simpson University, it makes them a powerful asset for coming back and living on campus. They know how the University is run, plus some of the students that are still here. The college life experience is what they know a lot about. Both of them are a better fit for the position they are in now because of their previous experience.
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