Students share love for music, each other

Everyone is searching for love. Whether it is a college student, or an old man in a retirement home, finding love and having that feeling reciprocated is the driving force in any person's life. A few people are lucky in love. Music education majors Justin Ketner and Adah Pratt happen to be two people who have had luck shined upon them.

"We balance each other out," Pratt said. "I'm kind of crazy and out going and he is more reserved."

The couple, who were engaged just less than two months ago on Feb. 11, has been together since November of 2007. Pratt was attending Wills Point high school at the time and playing music in the school's band. During a break from playing music in the third quarter of a football game between Wills Point and Commerce high school the two lovers met.

"We were eating some food under the bleachers and he came up and started talking to me," Pratt said.

Ketner had graduated from Commerce high school the previous semester and was in his first semester at A&M-Commerce.

"We became Facebook friends and starting talking on the phone," Ketner said.

The first year of the relationship was by no means easy for the couple with the distance between their schools hampering their ability to see each other. But they made it work.

"We would have to drive half way," Ketner said. " We would meet in Quinlan and take one car to go to see a movie in Terrell, or Greenville."

Pratt said she was considering coming to A&M-Commerce, but her relationship with Ketner sealed the deal. Now that Pratt and Ketner live in the same town dates have become somewhat different.

"We go to Walmart," Ketner said. "It's the only thing to do in Commerce."

After a little more than three years of dating Ketner decided to take the plunge and ask Pratt to be his wife.

"We were at The Texas Music Educators Conference in San Antonio," he said. "I'm in a men's music fraternity and we always have a serenade song we sing to our girlfriends. I decided to do it then because there would be 1,000 people there."

Ketner said he got some much reassuring advice from the director of the conference before carrying out his plan.

"He said ‘in 26 years of doing this no one has ever said no,'" Ketner said.

The men go out into the audience during this particular number according to Ketner and he was able to find Pratt in the front row.

"I had a certain spot in the song I wanted to use," he said. "I got down on one knee, took the ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me right there."

Although Pratt said she mildly expected the proposal the situation was still overwhelming.

"It was surreal," she said. "I remember thinking ‘oh my god I can't believe he pulled it off.'"

The couple plans to get married in December of 2012 after Pratt completes her student teaching and graduates from college. Until then Ketner and Pratt will frequent their favorite Commerce Haunts and help each other do well in classes.