Spring Commencement 2024: Rachel Garrison and Patrick Keplinger

“He kind of smiled and waved,” Garrison recalled, “and then he ended up coming to talk to us.”

From that chance meeting, a friendship blossomed, and by the following summer, they were dating.

Today, some three years later, on the cusp of their commencements, the pair has evolved into something of a power couple, Davis College-style.

A native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Garrison is graduating with a degree in management and minors in marketing, economics and music industry. Keplinger, from Haymarket, Virginia, double-majored in finance and accounting. They’re both staying on for another year while they earn their MBAs.

In retrospect, things could all have gone much differently.

Well before the fateful pingpong ball, Keplinger had initially planned to major in cybersecurity but decided he needed to work in a field that was more people-oriented.

A classical pianist for well over a decade, Garrison said she originally considered auditioning for Julliard, but her facility with numbers and knack for organization won out: “I felt like business was going to be the best route, and there’s a huge demand for good business minds in the music industry.”

In many ways, they’re complementary opposites: She describes herself as “risk averse” and admits, “I don’t like making mistakes at all; I’m a huge perfectionist,” while he said that when he came to Radford, “I just decided to get involved in as much as I possibly could … that when people ask me to do things, I’m just going to say ‘yes,’ and I ended up in a lot of different organizations and positions because of that.”

Indeed, as undergraduates, they participated in a host of clubs and groups, including the Student Managed Investment Portfolio Organization. He’s been the community service secretary for the Student Finance Committee, and for the past two years, she’s served as president of Delta Sigma Pi, the professional fraternity for business scholars.

“Honestly, I don’t think I would be nearly as good a student if it wasn't for her,” Keplinger said. “She’s easily one of the best students I've ever met, so she sets a higher standard academically, and I have to work a little harder, but I like that.”

Garrison, too, feels their relationship is mutually beneficial: “Patrick keeps me grounded because I tend to put too much on my plate. With all the organizations and scheduling and everything, he helps me slow down a little bit.”

By attending Radford, Garrison is not just accepting a torch that’s been relayed to her through several relatives; she’s also passing it down the line. While her uncle and his wife were both Highlanders, and her older brother, Nathan Garrison ’12, attended Radford, her younger brother will start his freshman year this fall.

She and Keplinger have also held jobs that, at their essence, give back to Radford. They've worked as tutors on campus, and for the past two years, he’s been a residential advisor.

“I felt like I was fulfilling a need, which I really enjoyed,” he said, “But I also got to meet so many different students with different majors.”

As the couple moves nearer to the end of their college experience and closer to the working world, they’re reflective about their time at Radford and the people who taught them.

“I probably learned just as much, if not more, from the interactions I've had with professors, speaking to them about their life experiences,” Keplinger said. “Something I like about the business college is that most of the faculty worked in the industry and worked in the field in different areas before they started teaching, so they know exactly what we’re about to go out and try to do, which is really helpful.”

“It’s been a really, really good education,” Garrison said. “I don’t think I would be nearly as prepared for real corporate America if I didn't have the teachers that I had. And I still remain close with some. We both do. And that’s really impactful for me because they’re great mentors.”