Love is in the air at VMHS. This Valentine’s Day, enjoy love stories from teachers of the Patriot community, Khadijah Green-Gatskin and Melissa Stewart.

Green-Gatskin is an art teacher at Veterans Memorial and is a student favorite. Her story begins while she played college basketball at the University of Texas in Tyler, Texas, where she met her now husband, Jamal Green-Gatskin.

“He was on the men’s basketball team and I was on the women’s basketball team. We became friends because we would make music together.”

The pair immediately clicked because of their shared passions for their sport and hobbies. They remained friends for a while until fate drew them closer together. 

The couple has been married for three years but have been together for six and a half years. In those six years, many beautiful and romantic memories have been shared between the two, including the couple’s engagement.

“When we got engaged, he took me horseback riding. We stopped because I thought we were taking a picture together, but he was actually proposing,” Green-Gatskin said.

Anything can become a special moment when you’re with the one you love, whether five minutes or five hours. 

Green-Gatskin’s favorite memories include the moments with her husband in the hospital room after giving birth to their baby girl. 

Melissa Stewart is another beloved teacher at Veterans Memorial.

She met her husband, Wes Stewart, while he was stationed in Eagle Pass. They weren’t complete strangers. They were familiar with each other because they were family friends.

They had known each other for years before Wes Stewart made his move.

“I thought he was joking when he asked to date me,” Stewart said. He was, in fact, not joking but completely serious about his commitment to her. The couple has been together for six years.

“I thought he was so handsome. I literally thought he looked like a Ken doll,” Stewart said.

Stewart, infatuated with Ken dolls growing up, has a real-life Ken as her husband for a lifetime. 

After they married, Stewart said it was easy for everyone to bond together since their families were relatively close.

“It made our life so easy because our girls were already besties,” Stewart said.

Love is everywhere and comes at the least expected of times. Often, the person of your dreams has been right by your side the entire time and you just don’t see it.