Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
San Diego juniors Amelia Shelhamer and Brady Small had been dating for six years when Small finally popped the question over spring break last month.
“In the back of my mind, I always knew,” Small said.
Shelhamer and Small started dating their freshman year of high school when they went to their homecoming dance together.
“He asked me to freshman year homecoming, and then later that evening asked me to be his girlfriend, which at the time when we were 14, was like — ‘What does that even mean?'” Shelhamer said.
After three more years of high school homecoming, both were set on coming to Baylor on their own volition, Shelhamer said.
“We just kind of knew we wanted to start our future together after college,” Shelhamer said. “It made the most sense for us moving forward because we have been together for so long.”
Despite a general timeline in mind, Shelhamer said the moment itself over spring break was a surprise, although she knew an engagement was on the way at some point.
“I kind of knew that time was coming and then we were going back home,” Shelhamer said. “A part of me thought maybe it could happen, but at that point, all the photo-op moments of the trip had passed.”
Small recounts the day he planned, which included five of their close friends waiting for Shelhamer at the locations of the couple’s first kiss, their old school, their favorite sushi restaurant and former house. This scavenger hunt of experiences led Shelhamer right back to Small — like it had throughout their lives.
“I had the sixth note on top of this big lookout point called Double Peak Park, where I was there with the photographer and the ring, of course,” Small said. “The sixth note was inside of a Bible that said Amelia Small, which is my last name.”
This moment was monumental for Shelhamer in realizing she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, she said.
“I think it was one of those moments where I think we realized how mature we actually are and how that’s grown over time,” Shelhamer said. “It was really sweet to watch him be so intentional with every love language.”
Shelhamer explains that in San Diego, people getting married young is not a frequent event like it is at Baylor. Despite their junior year engagement, both agree the timing was right.
“We were just excited to make friends and live here together,” Shelhamer said. “We did not want to get married in college — we wanted to have the full college experience.”
Both Shelhamer and Small don’t discount the influence being at Baylor has had on their engagement, and their story might have ended up differently if they had stayed in San Diego.
“We’ve had a lot of spiritual mentors and people that have poured into our relationship,” Shelhamer said. “Whereas if we were at another school, it might’ve been different because Baylor is so influential in that.”
As nondenominational Christians, both feel that religion played a role in their decision to get engaged while in college.
“It’s a little more normalized in our groups because we hang out with a lot of people that are Christian as well,” Small said.
Despite “Ring by Spring” being somewhat common at Baylor, Shelhamer and Small both experienced some push-back when they started having conversations about getting married.
“We had a conversation at one point about the only way we can prove ourselves to these people is just by living our life and loving each other the way we do,” Shelhamer said.
Despite some initial pushback, the couple has received an outpouring of support as well, and don’t consider themselves to be a stereotype, Shelhamer said.
“Sometimes people think these decisions are rash because people just want to live together, sleep together or whatever, and I think that’s such a large stereotype,” Shelhamer said. “We truly have put so much work and so much time into our relationship and are so genuinely excited to see it move forward.”
Shelhamer will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Small will graduate in May of 2026 with a BBA in finance and economics. After Small graduates, the couple will officially get married that month.
“For me, there is no one else I could ever see myself being with,” Small said. “But there’s nothing to reconsider because like — this is the person.”
