Lessons in Love: Man Pops Surprise Proposal to Teacher in Classroom

Jennifer Michaels thought her fellow teachers, staff members, and students might be up to something when she noticed the iPads and cameras aimed in her direction.

She wasn’t surprised when then-boyfriend William Unhoch stopped into her classroom at St. Michael in Orland Park Jan. 27 to speak during Teacher Appreciation Day—he had even asked the principal’s permission to participate.

When Unhoch, 25, took the floor though, he quizzed students on a subject Michaels didn’t see coming.

“What do you think love is?” he asked the students.

One student hopped up and grabbed a dictionary for the verbatim definition.

“How do you show love before you’re married?” he questioned them.

Their answer? A proposal. And that was exactly what he had in mind. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out the ring and dropped to one knee. The students erupted into cheers.

“It was hard enough for me to get out the ’yes!’”, Michaels said, laughing. ”But they were so loud, he couldn’t hear me!”

Shortly after popping the question, it was time for Michaels and her students to switch classes. The newly engaged pair exited the room to a hallway booming with clapping and fanfare.

Unhoch had mentioned proposing in front of her class, and Michaels, 23, loved the idea. Her role as fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at the school is her first full-time job—and she’s a St. Michael’s alum. This summer she and her fellow graduates will celebrate their 10-year reunion.

It seemed only natural for the school that held so much of her past to be the place where she begins a new chapter.

“When he walked in, I knew it was going to happen,” Michaels said.

The couple has set a wedding date of May 14, 2016. The reception will be held at DiNolfo’s in Homer Glen, and the ceremony? You guessed it—the church at St. Michael’s.

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