Senior Proposes to Girlfriend After Enlisting in U.S. Marine Corps

During the school year, most East seniors are preparing college applications, stressing over Homecoming dates and worrying about improving their ACT score. Senior Jakob Pillman is doing the same, except he has one added anxiety during his senior year: an upcoming wedding.

This September, Pillman proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jaden Rausch, a 2013 SM West graduate.

“We work well together,” Pillman said. “I could actually see myself being with her which is a compliment; I’m very unromantic. So I was like, ‘I like you, I can tolerate you, I think me and you should get together like that.”

Pillman’s desire to solidify their relationship was prompted by his enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps. It was important to him that Rausch had something to remember him by in case he was unexpectedly deployed to Afghanistan or Syria. His proposal signified the promise to Rausch that he would return safely from military combat zones.

“I wanted to give her hope that I would be coming back,” Pillman said. “Because there’s not a 100 percent guarantee when you go to combat zones like that, that you will ever come back or even come back in one piece”.

Pillman’s decision to propose was made a couple of weeks before his enlistment in the Marines. Pillman knew Rausch was the one for him after they worked through a series of dramatic events  in their relationship, according to Pillman. Before the drama, their relationship was in its honeymoon phase, Rausch said. It was eight months  of playing mini golf, watching Netflix and relaxing at each others’ houses.

The couple first met in May 2012  while helping a mutual friend move into a new home. Pillman and Rausch were initially not interested in each other, but around September of the same year they developed a relationship through texts and phone calls. The definite beginning to the relationship occurred after Jaden’s great grandfather died. When Pillman heard the news he immediately called to comfort Rausch.

“He called me and talked to me for hours. It all just happened after that,” Rausch said.

Their first date was at the Old Settlers Fair, an annual carnival in Olathe, KS, would become the place where Pillman and Rausch got engaged.

“It was the place where he fell for me,” Rausch said.

As Pillman began to think about the logistics of a proposal, his mother, Heather Pearson,  played an important role. Pearson gave Pillman her former wedding ring, so that he wouldn’t have to pay for one himself. Pillman was now ready for the proposal.

To celebrate the one year anniversary of their first date, Pillman and Rausch went back to The Old Settlers Fair. Upon arrival at the fair, Pillman proposed. Living up to his self-proclaimed “unromantic” ways, Pillman chose to propose in the car, prompted by the hundred degree  September weather.

“I tapped Jaden on the shoulder and was talking to her about how special she was and how much she meant to me,” Pillman said. “When I was done telling her basically how much I loved her, I pulled the ring out and asked her to marry me.”

Rausch was ecstatic about Pillman’s decision to propose.

“I felt amazing,” Rausch said. “I cant even explain the feeling it gave me. I felt like my life was finally coming together. I felt complete.”

As the news of their engagement spread, the couple have been met with varied reactions. For the most part, their close friends and family have been supportive, although some have mixed emotions.

“I would say I’m nervous for them,” Pillman’s mother, Heather Pearson said. “But once he turns 18 he can do what he wants anyway. I’m excited, I’m just more nervous, I think.”

Forty eight percent of people that marry before the age of 18 are likely to divorce within ten years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Pillman and Rausch feel their relationship is different. Rausch knows the love and connection they have built together is the key to their successful relationship.

“I love him,” Rausch said. “When two people get together and start working on themselves…when they aim to grow together.  They build a connection on a higher level. Couples who understand that this is the greatest gift they can give each other, will be the happiest couples and they will experience true love.”

Rausch and Pillman are planning to wait until they are financially stable to walk down the aisle. Jaden hasn’t started planning the wedding yet but the couple has set a date. Their wedding is set to take place on Nov. 8,  2014.

“I might try to start getting some ideas soon and kind of plan what we want in general so it won’t be so overwhelming later,” Rausch said. “But my ideal wedding is a fall, country wedding at my church.”

Even though Pillman and Rausch are comparatively younger than the average engaged couple, they hope they can make their relationship a lasting one.

“Hopefully we last,” Pillman said. “The divorce rate is 50 percent, but I sincerely hope we do [last].”