Fostering Life-Long Friendships

Southwestern Advantage fosters life-long friendships and the opportunity to build deep and meaningful relationships. The interns meet weekly on Sundays during the summer, travel to events and conferences together throughout the school year, and work alongside one another in team building, training, and growing their businesses throughout their Southwestern Advantage careers. Some of these friendships blossom into romantic partnerships and become successful marriages – just like Jack Wheeler and Emma Barnett who recently announced their engagement.

Jack and Emma’s Southwestern Advantage Story

Jack and Emma have interned with Southwestern Advantage for eight summers. They shared numerous mutual friends for several years before becoming friends themselves. During their fourth summers they sold in the same state, deepening their connection. After several more years their long-term friendship bloomed into a romantic relationship. Emma recalled, “I took Jack to get new tires on a Sunday (so romantic), I don’t really remember the conversation, but it was then that I think God made it clear to me that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.”

An Internship Program that Provides Lessons for the Future

Emma and Jack are grateful for the lessons they have learned from Southwestern Advantage and believe that some of those lessons are applicable to the next step in their journey – marriage. They shared that their faith and values are the two main ingredients that helped them form a strong foundation in their relationship. Many of the values they shared were solidified during their time in the Southwestern Advantage internship program. Furthermore, the perspective, skill, and practice of taking ownership are lessons that the couple is grateful to have when beginning their life together. Jack and Emma mentioned how much they admire all the Southwestern married couples, specifically Jake and Betsy Chesney. They stated that they respect how much love the Chesney’s have for one another and how they always put God first.

Jack and Emma expressed they cannot wait to being their lives together. Their Southwestern Advantage family could not be more happy for them.

Congratulations Jack and Emma!