Love at the Law School

At BYU Law, the journey to a JD has led many students to something just as meaningful, lasting relationships. Between long hours in the library, late-night study sessions, and shared experiences in the classroom, connections are formed that often extend far beyond graduation. For some, those connections become the foundation of a lifetime together.

Kara (‘99) and Seth Beal (‘99) actually married one year before they both enrolled at BYU Law. Kara completed her undergraduate degree first and had been quickly accepted by BYU Law, but deferred enrolling so she and her husband could be 1Ls together. “I was only partway through the application process when BYU Law called us,” Seth recalls. “They said, ‘You’re in; we have a scholarship for you, and can we please talk to Kara?’ It was obvious that I was only the carrot to get her enrolled.” Over the next three years, they took every class (except one) together, saving money by sharing everything. “We only bought one set of textbooks; we only owned one computer. I’m not sure it would work for everyone,” Seth said. “I’m not sure it worked for the classmates around us, but it worked for us.”

After graduation, the Beals both worked for Kirkland & Ellis (and Seth swears the firm was willing to hire him to get Kara). While both have since taken time away from practicing law, they are once again working together on several pro bono initiatives. And the Beals’ relationship has also blessed many fellow BYU law students; in 2018, the Beals established The Law Partners Endowment at the Law School, a fund that has grown to provide several scholarships annually.

For Janeen (‘77) and Thomas Aggen (‘78), their love story began in the earliest days of the Law School. Janeen was part of the school’s second class, studying in the old St. Francis building on 9th East, while Thomas enrolled the following year. Working at the front desk of the law library, Janeen began to notice a familiar face. “This big, tall blonde student in overalls seemed to make a lot of stops at my desk, asking for change to use the copy machine. More than once, we talked long enough that he missed his entire lecture period.”

Despite the demands of law school (heavy reading loads and intense finals), their relationship grew. By the middle of Janeen’s 3L year, they were engaged, and they were married the day after her graduation. And because their relationship began at the law school, they chose to celebrate there as well. “Since we had met and courted at the Law School, we felt it was fitting that we hold our reception there. To our knowledge, we were the first and only law school couple to do so.”

A half-century of law and love has passed since. During a recent senior mission in Hong Kong, she advised on government relations and religious liberty matters, while Tom served as Associate Area Legal Counsel. Both credit their time at BYU Law (and the influence of professors like Rex Lee, Dallin Oaks, Dale Kimball, Woody Deem, and Monroe McKay) with shaping not only their careers, but their lives together.

Nearly five decades later, the Aggen’s story reflects the enduring impact of relationships formed during those early years of the law school.

For Porter Schenewark (‘25) and McKell McIntyre (‘25), the BYU Law experience has written a much more recent chapter. McKell recalls it as love at first sight, though Porter took a little longer to be won over by her playful persistence. “She told me I looked like Amelia Earhart,” Porter laughed. “Who leads out with a line like that?” Their first date was attending the Taylorsville Temple open house, marking the beginning of a relationship shaped by shared experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

Before leaving for a summer job in Colorado, McKell showed Porter her favorite sunset lookout spot. After three long months apart, McKell was thrilled to discover that she and Porter were in several of the same classes at the beginning of the new semester (a “coincidence” she later discovered he’d carefully planned). Through study sessions, movie nights, and travel, their relationship deepened. Porter eventually proposed at the same sunset spot where their story had taken an early turn.

On February 21, they will return to the Taylorsville Temple (the place it all began) to be sealed together for time and eternity.

Though separated by decades, these stories share common threads: connection, shared purpose, and the unique environment of BYU Law that brings people together in meaningful, lasting, and (sometimes) loving ways.

The three couples highlighted here represent just a small sampling of the many relationships that have begun at BYU Law. We are grateful to also recognize:

Troy (‘01) and Denise Beatty (‘96)

Christopher (‘22) and Emely Melling (‘20) Read their story.

Jacob Crump (‘18) and Sara Plater Crump (‘19)

Tyler and Deborah Snow (‘09)

Chase Hansen and Brooke Robinson (‘14) 

Chad and Angela Fears (‘99)

David (‘85) and Sherene Dillon (‘86)

Jerry and Breanne Fors (‘05)

Josh (‘17) and Taylor Cutler (‘19)

Bradley (‘78) and Alice Jardine (‘77) 

Jim and Jaimee Neel (‘02)

Jeremy Rowley ('04) and Rebecca Oldroyd ('05)

Paris and Jacinda Thomas ('24)

Tony Grover ('04) and Heather Waite-Grover ('05)

Todd and Erin Goodsell ('07)

While this feature includes only a handful of these stories, it represents a much larger community of BYU Law Alumni who found not only a passion for the law, but also a partner along the way. We know there are many more stories yet to be told, and we celebrate all of the relationships that began within these halls and continue to grow today.