 Whether you met on campus, were high school sweethearts or reunited later in life, Episcopal loves to celebrate the love in our community. Each year, faculty and staff send special Valentine’s Day cards to the Episcopal cupid couples. There are 69 couples ranging from matches made among members of the class of 1971 to recent sweethearts from the class of 2011. It seems that sometimes the Episcopal experience forges a bond that lasts a lifetime. One such example of lasting love is that of Mollie and John Hill.
October 18, 1980 Episcopal classmates and longtime friends Mollie Poche and John Hill went on their first official date in the Episcopal “cafetorium” in the fall of 1980. The mood was set with an 80’s laser light show. No doubt, hits such as Michael Jackson’s Rock with You and Blondie’s Call Me reverberated through the night. It is an evening Mollie and John remember fondly to this day. Mollie and John met in the fifth grade right here at Episcopal. While it wasn’t love at first sight, there was a friendship and connection that drew them together, and kept them close. Mollie remembers the feeling of family that permeated across the Episcopal campus at the time. She says members of the class of 1984 were always very close and remain in weekly contact even today. As Mollie and John grew up together in this tight-knit community, their friendship remained steady. They worked on school assignments and class projects and Middle School came and went. In high school, the two spent time together with their large group of friends on the tennis courts at the center of an Episcopal campus that had not yet expanded to the size it is today. And during that time, their friendship grew until that fall evening when everything changed.  Mollie and John's senior yearbook tributes were strategically placed side by side. After that first dance, Mollie and John’s friendship turned into something more and the two would go on to attend every Episcopal dance together for the remainder of high school. A typical teenage date for Mollie and John back then included a hamburger at George’s under the overpass. Even though it’s dimly lit, you just might be able to find a Mollie/John dollar adorning the ceiling even today. After a quick bite at this Baton Rouge institution, the two would enjoy a movie. Movie night proved to be a good choice with 80’s classics such as Gremlins, Ghostbusters and Sixteen Candles hitting the big screen their senior year. After each outing, with a price tag of only $10 for the burger and the movie, the two sweethearts had to be home for an 11 pm curfew. As the 1984 Episcopal Accolade chronicles, Mollie and John dated throughout high school. The young couple shared all of the adventures of these important years, including working on the yearbook staff together and Mollie being named the 1983 Episcopal Homecoming Queen. Once the pomp and circumstance of high school graduation was over, the Hill’s romance continued as the two began studying at LSU. They pledged a sorority and a fraternity. They dealt with the demands of college, with Mollie earning a degree in interior design and architecture and John earning an MBA. And still the two remained together.
March 14, 1992 Mollie Poche and John Hill entered a new decade by saying “I do.” The two were only in their mid-twenties and had already been dating for twelve years when they married. As newlyweds they relocated to Houston and their careers flourished. Mollie worked for a large architecture company and later opened her own firm where she designed medical office interiors and spaces for Fortune 500 companies. John joined a Texas-based real estate company as a lease negotiator. Even with demanding, successful careers their relationship remained solid. “We had a lot of fun together working and traveling,” says Mollie. The Hills would often take beach trips or travel to London for fun. Eventually after 14 years of marriage, it was time for their relationship to move into a new chapter. They started a family of their own and returned to Baton Rouge. Mollie and John have two daughters – Glynes and Meredith. In keeping with family tradition, both are Episcopal Knights. Glynes and Meredith are joined on campus by a host of cousins as Mollie and John’s siblings also chose Episcopal for their children. Mollie and her sister Glynes now own and manage multiple children’s clothing companies and John works as one of only two professionals in his line of work in the country. Glynes, Mollie’s sister, was in the second grade when she first met John. “I don’t even remember life without them together. John is like a brother to me,” she says. Glynes says Mollie and John are great together and that “individually they are both fabulous people.” After all these years, Mollie and John are still together and they have made a life that they love.  John and Mollie at the recent Knight Under the Stars. The two will celebrate 27 years of marriage in March. 2019 and Beyond How have Mollie and John made their love last after all these years? “Be kind. Work together. Support one another,” says Mollie. This year, the Hills will celebrate 27 years of marriage. While some may be surprised to see high school sweethearts still together, Mollie says it was always natural to be with John. “I just always knew he was the one for me,” she says. “When you fall in love in ninth grade it’s different. He was a best friend. He’s a good guy. He is always there.” In the case of Mollie and John Hill, the romance didn’t end with commencement and there is no “one that got away.” There is simply two people who knew long ago that they had found the one. Happy Valentine’s Day from Episcopal, Mollie and John! And Happy Valentine’s Day to all of the Episcopal cupid couples! The Episcopal cupid couples will grow by one more on Friday. Mollie’s niece, Hanley Poche ’11 will marry fellow Knight Carson Bourgeois ’08. Hanley is the daughter of Mollie’s brother Jim Poche, who is a class of 1983 graduate. Congratulations! Happy Valentine's Day to the Episcopal cupid couples!
The Episcopal 2019-2020 application is now available! For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the school, contact us at enrollment@ehsbr.org or 755-2684.
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