About: Rachel Burant
On May 10, 1985, I was born at the Medical Center of Independence right here in Independence,
Missouri. During this time, I was the baby of the family, with one older sister, Reva.  My
parents, George and Laura, owned a duplex and the four of us lived in one side while renting
the other side out to two really sweet people, Helen and Matt Smiley. I had a great childhood,
constantly playing with Reva and all of the neighborhood kids.
Reva and I started attending Messiah Lutheran School when I was in junior kindergarten. We both
attended there all the way through 8th grade and maintained great grades. Surprisingly, we both
managed to be Valedictorians of our 8th grade classes. I was also confirmed my 8th grade year at
Messiah Lutheran Church, where I am still a member today. My mom actually became a teacher at
Messiah after I graduated and Buddy even had her as his 3rd grade teacher! Now she teaches 1st
grade and does a great job. I would have been really lucky to have her as a teacher. Her students
love her, which is understandable since she is an amazing teacher, mother, and friend! She has
always been there for me, giving me all the encouragement and advice I could ever need. I don’t
know what I’d do without her!!
Backing up a little, I would like to bring up February 18, 1993. On this day, God gave me a little
brother, George Russell Hertlein (Buddy). I was in the 2nd grade, 7 years old, and was no longer the
baby of the family. It was fun being old enough to remember the day he was born. It’s also fun looking
back on when he was a baby and then looking at him today. He has grown so much and is now (gasp) a
teenager! Buddy has to be the sweetest kid on the face of this earth. He is so loving and is always
looking out for those that are younger than him, whether he is at school, home, or in Boy Scouts. He
has a great sense of humor and I’ve always loved doing things with Reva and him. Buddy seems to have
no fear when it comes to talking to people. When I was his age, I was shy, especially in school, but
shy is one thing Buddy is not. Buddy will talk to practically anyone and rarely is he at a loss for
words! ;)
 up, my family was able to spend a lot of time and special occasions with my grandparents, Russ and Reva Wilson.
I always saw my mom’s parents more than my dad’s because they live here in Independence. My grandparents
on my dad’s side, George and Marie Hertlein, lived in St. Louis where my dad grew up. I do remember
going to visit them and seeing them at the Hertlein get-togethers. Sadly, they won’t be at the wedding
because they have both passed on. I have been lucky to have loving grandparents on both sides of the family.
In the fall of 1999, I attended public school for the first time. I spent my high school years at Truman.
The downside of public school is of course, the lack of religion classes and basically mention of God. It
was a good experience though. I got a small taste of the ‘real world’ since I had been living a pretty
sheltered life. During the summers of my high school years, I did a lot of volunteering and attended a
couple of academies. I went to the Truman Academy, which basically counted as a history class, and I went to
the George Caleb Bingham Academy of the Arts, where I received some college art credit. One summer, Reva and
I volunteered 100 hours at the VA Medical Center where my dad works. This helped me get an A+ Scholarship for
college. I also did some tutoring at some of the local elementary schools. I’ve always enjoyed working with
children. Reva and I taught 1st Grade Sunday School together during the high school years as well. During high
school, I got my first taste of Marching Band! We had over 200 members and were able to take 1st place in
contests. It was an exciting and fun time. We even got to give the halftime performance during a Chiefs vs. Colts
football game. My sophomore year, we traveled to Florida and were able to give a concert at NASA and perform
in a parade in Disney World! My Senior year we traveled to Canada and gave concerts at Niagara Falls and Old
Quebec. I graduated in 2003 as 17th in a class of 411 students. I definitely believe my success in school has
a lot to do with the excellent background I received at Messiah.
From Truman, I went on to Northwest Missouri State University where I am majoring in Art with an emphasis
in Graphic Design. It’s hard to believe how the years have flown by. Thanks to Northwest, I became great
friends with Pinder, Amanda, and Erin. I made many friends and have learned a lot. For three years, Pinder and
I participated in the Bearcat Marching Band. This was a different experience. Unlike in high school, we didn’t
participate in contests. We were strictly for entertainment. It was a really fun time and I’m glad I was part
of it. Although it may come as a surprise, I grew a lot in my faith in God while here at Northwest. Perhaps
that has a lot to do with rooming with Pinder, who is a really strong Christian girl. It also has a lot to do
with my realization of how many non-Christians there are out there. It was sad realizing that some of my new
friends didn’t believe in God. I think this was a big wake-up call for me and made me even more thankful for
my strong Christian upbringing. It also made me realize that finding a guy that had the same morals and beliefs
as me was going to be difficult…leading me to do some major praying!
During the last two summers I worked at the Precious Lambs Learning Center. My first summer, I was in charge
of a bunch of 2 year olds. This was definitely a learning experience. Trying to deal with 8-12 babies at once
during potty time really taught me patience!!! Perhaps, this was God’s way of easing me into the art of patience,
which I believe Jesse and I have mastered by now! Last summer, I got to be in charge of 1 year olds. They were
absolutely adorable. I enjoyed spending my time with such precious kids. At that age they are so cute and
innocent…how can you not love them?!
I have one year left of school and honestly, I can’t wait to be done. My life will be experiencing tons of
changes all at once. I will be graduating, getting married, and moving to a different state. I’m excited for
my life to begin, but also sad to be leaving such great friends and family members. I’ve been so lucky and so
loved and I’m so thankful to everyone who has always been there for me!!
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About: Jesse Burant
Well, if this is going to be all about me, I suppose I should start at the beginning! I was
born on February 16th, 1982 in St. Michael's Hospital here in Milwaukee, WI: A healthy, and
BIG, baby boy. I came in at around 9 pounds and just a hair shy of 2 feet! And yes, I'm STILL
a big guy. :) Now I'm 6'3" and heavy enough not to want to put it down on this website. ;) If
you haven't seen me in person yet, head over to the picture gallery for a look. I'm looking
forward to meeting all of you whom I haven't had the chance to see yet!
I've lived in the Milwaukee area my whole life, although there have been quite a few moves between
birth and now. If memory serves me correctly, I've had 9 different homes in my lifetime! Not counting my
time at college (more on college later). Not to sound conceited, but I have to admit I had a pretty kick
butt childhood. There were a number of other boys in the neighborhood that I played around with. Sadly,
I've lost connection with all of them, including my one time best friend, Josh. Hopefully I can get him
to the wedding though! And then when I was 8 years old, I got a new little buddy to mess with! A new baby
brother, David (born Nov. 13th, 1988). And, like the dutiful big brother I was, I gave him a hard time
every chance I got. But I'll be the first to say, I am so thankful I had him growing up, and even now. We
share a lot of common interest and spent a lot of time together and get along well to this day. I can't
imagine having gone through life without him!
I've gone to Lutheran schools my entire life. Even from 3 and 4 year old preschool! I went to Our Redeemer Lutheran
in Wauwatosa, WI for Kindergarten through 8th grade; Martin Luther High School in Greendale all four years (class
of 2000! How cool is that!?); and then Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon. And I wouldn't have had it any other
way. All three were excellent schools. And a lot of excellent teachers and friends along the way. One thing I was
always proud of in school was my grades. I always got very good grades. A 3.4 in college and high school, and if I
had GPA in grade school, that probably would have been about a 3.4 as well. And that's actually nowhere near as good
as I could have done. I have this one really bad habit... I am a procrastinator through and through. And as a result,
never really put 100% of my effort into my school work, but was still able to pull off some good grades in the process.
That brings me to college. Like I mentioned, I went to Concordia for 4 years. These were some of the best times of
my life in a number of ways. I started out the first year completely and utterly undecided about what I wanted to do
for a career. One of my good friends from high school, Jake, also went to CUW and he was taking computer science. I
was already quickly developing a fondness and a good understanding of computers at this time, so I decided to try out
the Intro to Computer Science class second semester. Needless to say, I LOVED that class! I was hooked, so a computer
science major I became. My big break came Sophomore year, when the head of computer science (who is an amazingly nice
guy), Dr. Locklair, offered me the job of being the System Administrator for the Computer Science Department! Of course,
I took it, and was in charge of all the CS computers and servers for the next 3 years. When I graduated in 2004 (and
by the way, my commencement speaker was President George W. Bush!!!!), I found the job hunt incredibly frustrating.
Thankfully, Dr. Locklair kept me on as Sys Admin for another good 6 months or so even though technically I shouldn't
have been working since it was a student worker position, and well, I wasn't a student anymore! I told you he was a
nice guy!
Well, that money I saved during that time held me over until I finally got my first "real" job in May 2005. It was
pretty crappy... just an entry level help desk type of job for a shipping company in Cudahy. It wasn't horrible, but it
was far from great. I just was never comfortable. Well, after working there for one month, I was perusing the CUW
website one day. I don't normally do this, but I guess I was bored, and happened to click on the Employment Opportunity
page. I was shocked! There was an opening for the Computer Lab Coordinator! A job I had quietly coveted the whole time
I was working in the CS department! And the posting date was just a week earlier or so! This was a no brainer... I
applied immediately. The next day I get a call to set up an interview for the following day. The interview was nerve
wracking, but I felt like I did a good job and it seemed they were impressed with me. The very next day I get a call...
I got the job! And I'm working there to this day, and it's SO great. (I was working here for only a couple months when
I first met Rachel - See below) The difference in jobs between this job and my last is like night and day. I love this
job so much and there's potential to move up the ladder in the future too. I can definitely see myself working here for
a loooong time.
Throughout my life, there has been one real constant: my mom! She has consistently been the one who has always been there
for me. She raised me to have the strong Christian values I have today. She was the one that always made sure I went to
a Christian school, even though at times the tuition became a heavy burden. She always made sure I had the necessities of
life, along with quite a few luxuries while I grew up. Never overly domineering, nor a distant uncaring parent, she managed
to find that perfect balance between friend and mother. Without her, I wouldn't have grown to be half the man I am today.
So mom, if you read this... thank you! Thank you for everything you do and have done!
On Aug. 1st, 2006, I move out of home on my own for the first time. I got my own apartment! Geting myself prepared for
marriage! Hopefully this nice little place will hold us over for a year or so after we're married. Long enough until we
can get settled and save some money for a house. It's been a long, long, agonizingly long wait. I cannot wait to get my
life as a married man underway!
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