Love collides at LBCC as a couple supports each other’s dreams while their relationship grows

New students Aaron Jennings and Hope Brown are learning to navigate their academic and future career goals at LBCC while building a relationship that the two created at the Liberal Arts Campus.

Jennings is a novelist and Brown is envisioning a career as an elementary teacher, uplifting students with the same disability as hers, Ocular Albinism. 

Ocular albinism is a rare genetic condition that primarily affects the eyes, causing reduced pigment (melanin) in the iris and retina, which can lead to vision problems like low visual or uncontrollable eye movements. 

The two met in class last year, where they became friends and then later became partners.

“We met in professor Moreno’s class for English two and I was walking in and I was kinda tunnel vision trying to find my seat and I saw the back of her hair (and) was like ‘oh she has nice hair’,” Jennings said.

Brown picked up where Jennings left off, revealing the moments when she started noticing she liked him more than a friend. 

“I would make jokes about things my other classmates would share. He would laugh, and his laugh would catch my attention. I was like ‘oh maybe we can be good friends or we’ll work together in the future’,” Brown said. 

^{LBCC student, Aaron Jennings looks over LBCC student, Hope Brown’s shoulder as she reads. They are photographed in the LBCC library on March 19 symbolizing how they met in their English two class. (Asa Liberty)}

“We had an instagram group chat with one of our friends, he made a whole other chat separate for just me and him and that was how I found out how he felt about me,” Brown said.

Jennings, a sophomore, explains what his plans are after he transfers from LBCC.

“I am trying to be a writer, I was inspired by C.S Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and I am trying to write my own novels. I have four in the backlog that has been taking a lot of my sleep and my time. Besides that, get a regular job and be a writer on the side. But that would be my plan to publish some of my books and that would be the future I’m trying to build currently,” Jennings said.

Brown shared her aspirations for the future, she wants to be an elementary teacher.

“I’m currently an elementary school teacher major. I do plan on transferring out to a four-year, probably Cal State Long Beach as far as a teacher goes, that’s one of the top programs. Hopefully one day, God willing, I am able to open up my community center for kids, specifically kids with disabilities like myself,” Brown said.

In Brown’s case she says, “I wear glasses on the daily basis because I need them for reading and seeing close distances but with or without my glasses, I’m considered legally blind and a lot of that plays a role with my albinism as well.”

Even with her glasses, “There’s not much improvement but I’ve been able to be successful in my education but there are a lot of kids and students and adults who don’t succeed as well as I do because it is a struggle,” Brown said.

Brown expressed that in her center, she wants to create a space where people with disabilities can come together to sit and talk about the challenges they face, acknowledge it is hard and they don’t want to feel different but they are different simply because they have different characteristics in their lives that make things a little challenging.

“I feel like with the right community around you, you can believe in yourself, you can find your confidence and you can be successful in whatever you want to do. I just feel like everyday life doesn’t have the space for that because everything is constantly moving and going forward,” Brown said.

Jennings and Brown both feel they are supportive of one another’s dreams and goals.

“She has encouraged me through school, believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and helped me better connect with my teachers,” Jennings said.

^{LBCC students, Aaron Jennings, left, and Hope Brown, right, stare into one another’s eyes in the LBCC library on March 19. The couple met in their English Two class last year. (Asa Liberty)}

Brown shared her perspective on how Jennings encourages her. 

“What I love the most is that he takes out the time to consult God in prayer about the succession, or shall I say successfulness, of my dreams. It’s how I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has my best interest in his mind and in his heart,” Brown said.

The English professor who teaches the class where they met had words of praise for the couple. 

“Hope and Aaron are exceptional former students and wonderful people. It was a privilege to be their literature instructor,” Kirsten Moreno said.

Looking ahead, Jennings and Brown hope to build a life together, balancing long-term plans for marriage with their own individual goals.