John spent his first 18 years living on a farm outside of Wamego, KS, with his parents Doug and Joyce and older brother Matthew. After graduating from Wamego High School he attended the University of Kansas. John was a walk-on for the KU cross country and track teams while majoring in Sports Science/Athletic Training. During the summer of 2001 John moved to Austin, TX to be the Head Athletic Trainer at Concordia University. John and Sierra dated long distance for several years but finally decided that they needed to live in the same community to really get to know each other. John took the bold step of accepting a position with National Drug Works in Simi Valley, CA as national sales manager and moved to an apartment near Sierra in Pasadena, CA.  John continues to grow in his career, personal and spiritual life and looks forward to starting his married life with Sierra in September.

Sierra was born in Boston, Massachusetts but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Oregon and Washington where her father’s career took the family. Sierra graduated from high school in Portland, Oregon and moved to Austin, TX, with the family shortly thereafter. She fell in love with the city, the weather and the people and now considers it “home.” She earned a degree in Biomedical Engineering from UC San Diego and swam for Tritons as well. She worked as a graduate assistant for 2 ½ years at the University of Texas as an Athletic Trainer. She had always planned on a career in medicine, so after much deliberation and prayer she chose to be a physician assistant and returned to California to attend USC Keck School of Medicine. Following graduation she accepted a position in Emergency Medicine at a large hospital just 5 blocks from her Pasadena condo. When she is not working or preparing for the wedding Sierra has a passion for training and competing in triathlons.