Even though the Edmunds were not in the same year of school, they still managed to find their way to each other.
“I fell in love with Jian-Jun when she and I were working together on presentations for the Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) conference,” David said.
At the conference, David (BMUSE ‘93, PHD ‘09) was struck by Jian-Jun’s (PHD ‘11) leadership and professionalism, and he knew right then that she was “the one.”
But before they were a couple, the two worked as teaching assistants for Music in the Elementary Classroom, and that’s where their connection and relationship flourished.
“She had been in the U.S. for only one year, having earned her master’s degree at Teachers College, Columbia,” he said.
After dating for a year, David proposed on Valentine’s Day in 2011 at Lake Alice in Gainesville, Florida.
“It was supposed to be a surprise, but we were both so busy that I had to schedule the proposal in between several events,” he said. “ She knew what was up and I was lucky she said ‘yes.’"
They celebrated their love in a whirlwind of events in just one weekend. Jian-Jun’s family came to Gainesville from Taiwan for her graduation, and they had the wedding that same weekend on May 7.
The couple now lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and are both music education faculty at the Duluth campus of the University of Minnesota. When they are not teaching or conducting research, they enjoy hiking and shopping.
“It's been a wonderful eight years,” David said. “I am lucky to have met Jian-Jun during our time together in the UF School of Music."
