“ I didn’t reall y think I was h is type of girl .”
Justin is a supervisor of housekeeping and analytics at the Cleveland Clinic and Aubrei teaches English at Shaw High School.
How they met: Marching band.
He says: I thought she was kind of dorky. I remember she was in spirit
club – she’s a big spirit person.
She says: He was one of the “popular” guys in band – at Shaker it
was cool to be in the marching band. He was also in Jazz Band, and
he was a MAC (Minority Achievement) Scholar.
What brought them together: Both attended Kent State
University, where they became friends. It wasn’t until after he
graduated that they started dating.
She says: At Kent State, I didn’t think much about it;
he was just a friend from Shaker. I didn’t really think
I was his type of girl.
He says: She commented on a picture of
me on Facebook from a wedding I had
attended – she said I looked good. It
planted a seed in my head. We
exchanged numbers and I
asked if she wanted to
hang out. That was on
a Friday.
By Sunday it was curtains. We walked around the Shaker Lakes and
had our first kiss.
Married since: August 2, 2014. They got married in a surprise
wedding at Blue Canyon restaurant; the guests thought they were
coming to attend an engagement party. Three Shaker alums were in
the bridal party – Aubrei’s sister, Toussaint Blue (SHHS ’99) and two
of Justin’s fellow MAC Scholars.
Now: Living in Mayfield Heights.
She says: We have talked about moving back to
Shaker; we both still have family here.
He says: I want our kids to go to Shaker
schools. We appreciated the discipline
we had there.
Sweethearts:
Justin Erkins, SHHS ’98 and
Aubrei Watson Erkins, SHHS ’00.
“We exchanged numbers and I asked if she wanted to hang out . That was on a Friday. . .
44 SHAKERONLINE.COM | WINTER 2015