Meet Chris and Amy Phillips, NAU sweethearts who met on campus, tied the knot in front of Old Main and now work at NAU too.
Chris Phillips is the assistant director of Admissions and Orientation’s Welcome Center and Amy Phillips is a communications coordinator with the Office of Public Affairs.
How did the two of you meet? We met while we were students working for NAU Athletics. Chris was overseeing game management and I was coaching the cheerleading program. We spent a multitude of hours working athletic events and found ourselves getting to know each other really well.
What are some of the pluses — and minuses — of being at the same university as your spouse?
There are so many pluses to working at the same university. As alum, we love being a part of the Lumberjack family.
We also absolutely value working the same hours and holiday schedules. It’s really helpful to bounce ideas off of each other, solicit and provide advice and have a common understanding of the workplace — which helps make for a positive work, life balance. Carpooling to work and paying for one parking pass is not only cost effective, but excellent in colder temperatures when Chris shovels and scrapes the snow off of the car!
Working the same events can be both positive and negative. It is great to be together, but it can also be challenging at times when we are faced with juggling child care or toting our toddler with us.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans? We have a mutual agreement that we do not exchange gifts during holidays (we make up for this by splurging throughout the year on adventurous trips, house projects, etc.). We will most likely enjoy the warmer temperatures with our daughter and spend time outside playing at the park, walking the dogs and end the night binge watching a show on Hulu.
Are there special spots on campus that you think are especially romantic? We have a special connection with Old Main, where we were married six years ago. The historic buildings, trees and landscape are beautiful. This is where we have enjoyed many picnics, anniversary coffee dates and it’s a great place for us to reflect upon our wonderful Lumberjack life.
