Gregory ('88) and Christine ('92) Hutmacher met on the first day of a freshman journalism class in the basement of the General Academic Building in the fall of 1980. Their romance quickly began, and before they knew it, there was a beautiful twist: they were expecting a baby.

"They were 19 at that point, and you've got to make money and figure things out," says that child, Anne Green ('24). "My mom stayed home with me for about a year and my dad went to work in a sheet metal shop. They were both just trying to support their new family."

With the addition of two sons over the next few years, it certainly wasn't easy for the Hutmachers to finish college, but they took night classes and did everything they could to ensure their children were well taken care of.

During that time, Anne, Eric and Brian practically grew up on the UNT campus, attending classes with their parents.

"I remember going to classes with my mom, and some of the professors really stepped up to make sure that she was supported," Anne says. "She was doing photography classes, and there was a professor who bought crayons, coloring books and toys so that my mom could bring us with her to classes."

Several major switches and several years later, Gregory graduated with a finance degree in 1988 and went on to work as a director for T-Mobile. Christine was able to return to school in a regular capacity -- earning her photojournalism degree in 1992 and working with Sally Beauty Company.

"My parents both went on to have really successful careers that they never would have had without those degrees, not ever," Anne says. "They provided a life that can only come from having mobility and they wouldn't have had that mobility without the degrees." Anne began coursework at UNT in 2000 and now works as director of development for UNT's College of Engineering. Her brother, Eric ('10), graduated with a degree in emergency administration and disaster planning and currently works as a branch manager for FEMA. Anne's oldest daughter, Georgia ('23), earned her degree in the same field and is pursuing her master's degree in disaster science at UNT. Anne's son Grant is a senior construction management major and daughter Carolina is a junior public health major.

When Anne's children got their class rings, she decided her parents should have rings of their own. She surprised them at the UNT Ring Ceremony and Eagle Ring Dive last year, allowing the whole family to celebrate.

"I think the real message is: Don't quit," Gregory says. "I have a specific memory of when I was working at a warehouse and had barely accumulated enough hours to be a sophomore, and I thought, 'I'm never going to graduate at this point,' because it was just taking forever. There were definitely some low moments where we didn't think we were ever going to get there, but we didn't give up -- neither one of us."