Being married as college students is not out of the ordinary, but then again, Paul and Mary-Lynn (Hadley) Kebker are no ordinary couple.

As Slippery Rock University’s “first couple in command,” the cadets occupy two the top three leadership positions in Slippery Rock’s respected Army ROTC program – something that has never happened before at SRU – and will graduate together in August.

“She’s actually my boss – she outranks me,” said Paul Kebker, a cadet captain to his wife’s rank of cadet major.

The two met their junior year at Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School, when Mary-Lynn decided to put her soccer skills to work on the varsity football team. As kicker, she kicked four field goals her senior year – the same year she was named homecoming queen.

Paul and Mary-Lynn (Hadley) Kebker kick off their life together. (Photo reprinted with permission from Slippery Rock University's alumni magazine, The Rock)

“I was crowned at halftime wearing my pads,” she said.

Toward the season’s end, Paul, a receiver, broke his arm, and Mary-Lynn paid him a visit. Soon, the two were dating. Fast forward to graduation. Paul, a math whiz who had earned an ROTC scholarship, decided to follow Mary-Lynn east to Slippery Rock, where she had scored a soccer scholarship and planned to study education.

“I could go pretty much anywhere that had Army ROTC,” Paul Kebker said, “but Slippery Rock has one of the top education programs and like Mary-Lynn, I wanted to teach, so it seemed like a good fit for me.”

At SRU, the two settled into a comfortable routine, with Paul im¬mersed in his military science courses and ranger challenges and Mary-Lynn competing in collegiate soccer. But as much as Mary-Lynn loved the game, she worried about her mounting loans. Her athletic scholarship covered only a portion of her tuition.

“I didn’t want to graduate with a lot of debt, which made ROTC seem that much more appealing,” Mary-Lynn Kebker said. “Still, I never consid¬ered myself an Army girl.”

Paul Kebker thought differently.

“She thrives in challenging situ¬ations – that’s what made her so good at soccer,” he said. He also reminded her of a real-life experience similar to what she would undergo in the Army.

“When she was a freshman, her family house caught fire and she was the only one to wake up,” he said. “After rousting her par¬ents, she ran downstairs and punched out the windows in the base¬ment where her brother was sleeping. With her mother, she pulled him out of the window and saved his life.”

With Paul’s encouragement, Mary-Lynn joined ROTC. A year later, they were engaged. They married in May 2009. Paul’s parents were excited for the couple from the start; Mary-Lynn’s parents were hesitant.

“They were like, ‘You’re only 20,’” Mary-Lynn Kebner said. “I think the engagement was a definite shock. But after they thought about it, they got excited – they knew we would end up married at some point, so why not now?”

Package Deal
Being married has had its advantages in both the classroom and in their ROTC program – as evidenced by their 3.8 grade point aver¬ages and impressive ROTC ranks.

“We help each other out – it’s great to have someone to work with who knows what you are going through,” Mary-Lynn Kebker said. “For example, Paul had gone to airborne school before me, so he helped me prepare – and I had a blast jumping out of airplanes.”

Mary-Lynn serves as the ROTC battalion’s executive officer, making her second in command. Paul Kebker is bravo company command¬er and trains juniors for summer camp.

As for their fellow students, “we’re pretty much known as the ‘married Army couple’ in our education classes,” Paul Kebker said. “Sometimes, we’ll show up at our 8 a.m. class in our PT uniforms and they’ll ask, ‘What time did you wake up?’ They’re shocked when we say 4:30 a.m.”

When the two socialize, they’re known as a package deal – if one is invited, expect the other one to come along.

“We’re really tight with our ROTC friends – they’re like family,” Mary-Lynn Kebker said “We’re also content with being together. Being married is actually a blessing because we don’t have to deal with the drama of dating and breakups.”

Double Deployment
It is no surprise that the couple has thrived in the award-winning ROTC pro¬gram at SRU. The program has twice re¬ceived the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Award for excellence in training officers and has won the Governor’s Trophy for the Best ROTC Unit in Pennsylvania three times. With more than 120 students enrolled, students take courses such as “American Military Experience,” “Basic Military Skill,” “Fundamental Tactical Operations” and “Leadership Dimensions and Concepts.”

The Kebkers have taken classes together, completed repelling drills on the University’s leadership tower and passed the national Leader Development and Assessment Course on their first attempt. The 28-day course in Fort Lewis, Wash., the Army’s most important officer commissioning training, incorporates intelligence, navigation and leadership testing.

“We were tested in our physical fitness, land navigation abili¬ties, first aid training, leadership reaction courses and on a water confidence course,” Paul Kebker said. “SRU ROTC put us through a rigorous year in order to pre¬pare us for the camp.”

Mary-Lynn Kebker said, “SRU ROTC prepared me very well. We con¬ducted countless marches, land navigation, operational orders and obstacle course to be sure we were fully prepared for the materials. Faculty even took extra time out of their days to conduction one-on-one training for extra help and went out of their way to provide us with the materials and supplies we needed for us to succeed.”

Their success is also the result of the couple’s discipline and drive.

“They push each other,” said Lt. Colonel Patrick Callahan, com¬mander of the ROTC program at SRU. “Mary-Lynn is quite physically fit and the guys razz Paul when he doesn’t score as well as she does – but then, few of the guys score as well as she does. With their leadership abilities, academic prowess and attention to detail, being a couple is a positive – not a distraction. I can’t think of two people I would rather have teaching and influencing my own children.”

ROTC cadet Merle McConnell, a criminology major from Aliquippa, said some single cadets joke with the couple about their mar¬ried status, but “they take it well and we’re all good friends.”

“Paul and Mary-Lynn are at the top of the class,” he said. “We all work together, and they always interact in a professional manner.

A lot of times you wouldn’t even know they are married. When they’re not in uniform, you can tell they’re married. But when they are in uniform you really don’t know the difference. They take the joking very well.”

Given the couple’s proactive approach to life, it’s no surprise that the Kebkers have a well-thought-out plan for their future. Both are majoring in elementary education and plan to serve six years in the Army National Guard, an ideal fit for teachers since they will serve one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. With a year of active duty in the mix, they figure that when one is called up, the other will volunteer to go as well.

“We didn’t want to run the risk of deploying at different times,” Paul Kebker said. “This way, we’ll still get to be together, and we’ll finish our commitment at the same time so it will be easier on us when we start a family.” If all goes as planned, the two will graduate in May and intern in the fall.

(“First Couple in Command” was published in Slippery Rock University of Pennsyl¬vania’s alumni magazine. ‘The Rock’ and then reprinted in the Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School Alumni Magazine with permission from Gordon Ovenshine, Editor.)

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