- Joshua Florence, ELEVATE Alum
"This class has helped me realize what I love most about Meridian [My partner] and made me appreciate her even more than I ever thought I could. It really made me realize how we already used these methods without even knowing them and makes me very confident about the future of our relationship!"
- Taylor Sparkman, ELEVATE Alum
"The ELEVATE class was a wonderful growing and learning experience for my partner and I. My partner and I represented the “younger couples” as many others are engaged, married, or have been married for decades. Only having dated a little less than a year when we participated in this class, my partner and I gained insight from the more experienced couples in addition to the material that was being presented. The most helpful information for my partner and I reminded us to value and appreciate our partner and to consistently thank your partner for the little things they do each day. This class was a great aid in our relationship because it taught us how to handle issues before they arise, rather than waiting until they put too much stress on the relationship. Jaime was a wonderful, friendly, and relatable teacher who always kept us laughing, learning, and focused on bettering ourselves for our partners. My relationship with my partner is stronger than ever because of the tips we learned in class, and I would strongly recommend this class to anyone who is interested in bettering themselves and improving their communication to ensure a more positive, healthy relationship with their significant other."
- Arun Jani, ELEVATE Alum
"Going to the Elevate class helped my partner and me identify the strongest and weakest components of our relationship. The course really helped us develop better communication skills as a couple. We live a few hours apart and are busy graduate students, which has made it challenging to maintain a healthy level of communication in our relationship. The Elevate course motivated us to put in a daily routine of speaking by phone most evenings in addition to getting together on weekends.
The course curriculum was very well designed and helped us remain engaged and attentive during class. We learned from the instructor, course notebook, videos, in-class activities, and the experiences of other couples. We both really benefitted from the questions in the notebook as they helped us to identify problems or other aspects of our relationship that we want to improve.
We are confident that the skills we developed in the class will help us grow closer and achieve our future goals as a couple. We feel renewed in our commitment to communicate more effectively and build trust to make our love grow stronger.
We would definitely recommend this class to our friends and family who are seeking to enrich their own relationships. We believe a healthy relationship is the basis for forming a kind and supportive family, which in turn leads to a more kind and supportive society."
- Allison Stendardo, Before You Tie the Knot Alum
"We have been together for 5 years and were friends first for about 2 years beforehand. Being friends first allowed us to know each other well before dating and to easily trust and communicate with each other.
We decided to take the Before You Tie the Knot class as we are now preparing to take the next step in our relationship. Although we do feel like we mostly have a great relationship already, there is always so much more we can learn when it comes to communicating and how to understand each other’s needs.
We feel like the class did just that. We learned new ways to communicate and work with our different personalities. We learned how to deal with arguments in a more positive way and how to settle those arguments more quickly. The class was also great in learning to discuss things we wouldn’t have thought to talk about before such as what parenting styles we would like to use in the future. With the tools we have learned in this class we definitely feel like it has strengthened our relationship and has prepared us for a great future together."
- Kervins Clement, ELEVATE Alum
"We loved our instructor (Jamie). She was very welcoming and made us feel very important. The class was fun, and we loved her jokes. We also loved her transparency and correlating the material to her personal story. When she did that, it helped us make more meaning to the material. It was also more relatable when she did that."
- Jacqlyn Yourell, ELEVATE Alum
"Brandon and I will use this information in our everyday life not only with each other but with our family, friends, and colleagues. The skills we learned are transferable to all relationships, and we will use the information to practice and improve throughout our lives. It truly has set the foundation for a healthy relationship between the two of us, and we are excited to see our relationship grow and strengthen because of the information and skills we learned."
- Scotty Goodloe, ELEVATE Alum
"The Elevate class gave us a deeper insight on how to communicate with each other during times of stress. We were able to take some of the learning tools and implement them into our life. When have disagreements, we are able to address the root of the problem instead of arguing just to prove ones point. The class helped up to realize that most of our arguments are based on how we receive information rather than actually being upset or mad at one another. We have learned to clarify our thoughts and feelings when expressing them so that we have clear understanding. Also, we have learned to validate each others feelings and acknowledge when we are in the wrong. We enjoyed this class because we were able to freely discuss relationship issues with others without being judged. The dynamics of the class was interesting because the group was diverse in age and ethnicity. We highly recommend this class to couples looking to enhance their communication and learn more about themselves. This class has helped us self-reflect and focus on the positive in each other."
- Amanda Lairson, ELEVATE Alum
"This class taught us what a healthy relationship consists of ... We went from fighting and blaming each other; to talking and communicating through iMessages. It felt awesome to be in a room full of couples going through the same thing we were. We owe our happiness to this class. Oh yeah and the instructor rocks!"
- Mr. & Mrs. McVay, Before You Tie the Knot Alums
"Thank you so much for all of the wisdom you imparted to us during the Before You Tie the Knot workshop series! It has 100% impacted our relationship for the better! We communicate more lovingly and now openly validate each other when we share information. We’re so grateful we took the class right before we tied the knot!"
- Kelvin Wells, Before You Tie the Knot Alum
I think the class really reminded us of the importance of continued learning and practice. It was a great start to provide us with some tools, and I think that we will continue to add more relationship tools to our toolbox.
I very much liked the cycle of conflict and what "to do" as opposed to "what not to do". I particularly enjoyed learning more about the "I-messages" to describe how we feel when we encounter a trigger, in addition, to learning to respond non-defensively but by asking clarifying questions instead.
