Married in 2017
The Story: We had met many times through mutual friends due to the fact that both of us went to Pius. It wasn’t until 2011 when we discovered that we were both training to run the Lincoln half-marathon, a first for us both. We started talking about training and holding each other accountable with our training leading up to the race. Through that communication we had about training, it led to us getting to know each other better.
The moment that led to dating was when finally the ice was broken and we went from just talking occasionally to actually going on a date to a movie. There is debate as to this fact, but Joslyn claims that she is the one that asked me to go on the first date (to a terrible, forgettable movie). From that point forward, we began spending more and more time together leading to our eventual dating.
While we didn’t know each other personally in high school, we had enough mutual friends that took away some of the uncertainties of dating after high school. However, Joslyn claims that she knew me in HS, despite me not knowing her (but don’t all underclassmen/women know the older kids?!).
Sharing the Pius X Experience: Attending the same high school was actually more of a happenstance as we didn’t start dating due to anything specifically related to Pius. However, having so many shared interests and experiences due to attending the same high school was definitely something that alleviated a lot of the pressures of dating someone you didn’t know too well previously. Knowing that we were both raised in the Catholic Church was also something that allowed us to be more comfortable with advancing our relationship.
Life Update: Joslyn obtained her undergraduate degree in speech pathology from UNL. I attended Creighton and got an accounting degree. Joslyn and I met while I was in law school (at Creighton) and she was in undergrad. We moved to Colorado following graduation where she pursued her Masters Degree (at Northern Colorado) in Elementary Education and I began my legal career. After a short stint in CO, we have lived in Omaha, Jacksonville, FL, and now currently in Gretna.
Joslyn is currently a 6th grade teacher at Elkhorn Ridge Middle School. I am employed by Fidelity National Title Group in the legal department as Managing Counsel/VP.
We have a 6 month-old daughter, Lola Lea Mandl, the arrival of which has absolutely been the best thing to happen to us both. We also have an 8 year old Chow-Shepard, Hank, and a 2 year-old Bernedoodle, Zeke.
In our spare time we like to travel and enjoy new experiences. We also enjoy attending as many concerts as possible, as that was something we initially bonded over in our early dating years. Together over our nearly 9 years together, we have attended around 50 concerts.
