Charles and Melissa Broz, both hired at Eastern New Mexico University in 2011, have a sense of humor about their relationship. Charles was attracted to Melissa because she wore Chuck Taylor sneakers; Melissa calls Charles and her "dorks."
Charles is an associate professor of culinary arts, and Melissa is the executive secretary for Academic Affairs.
Charles runs the production kitchen, teaches students how to cook and broaden their culinary horizons.
Melissa was originally the secretary for the College of Business/Master of Business Administration area.
She is "still new at the job, so I'm still learning. Basically, I keep the office organized, field student and faculty issues and am a FLAC (faculty load and compensation) master."
The couple met at a video store she managed in Lubbock, Texas. Charles was getting his Ph.D. at Texas Tech and would come in to rent movies a few times a week.
They married in July of 2009 at the courthouse in Lubbock. He wore jeans and a Hawaiian shirt; she wore a Beatles shirt, jeans and yellow Chuck Taylor shoes.
Surrounded by close friends and family, "It was small and perfect," Melissa said.
What attracted the couple to each other?
"I've always been partial to redheads," Charles said. "Plus she's funny and wore Chuck Taylors."
Melissa said, "I thought he was cute, funny and smart. He's also kind of a dork like me with a very dry, deadpan sense of humor. We liked each other for a while, but neither of us would say anything about it. I finally got tired of waiting and asked him to hang out with me and a group of work friends on New Year's Eve.
"On our first official date one week later, we talked movies, and both of us loved a kind of obscure horror movie from 1980, 'The Changeling' with George C. Scott. I made a nerdy 'Calvin and Hobbes' reference and he got it without me having to explain it. I knew even then that I was heavily 'in like' with him. A year and a half later, we were married."
Charles says he likes everything about his job.
"The students and their enthusiasm and curiosity remind me why I started cooking professionally. I can't think of anything I don't like."
Melissa likes "getting to know people. Since I've moved around campus several times, I know a lot of people in different areas. With my move to the VPAA's (vice president for Academic Affairs) office, there are a lot of new faces.
"The thing that I like least right now is that I don't know everything about the job yet. That will change as I learn, but with me being a 'control enthusiast,' it's not my favorite feeling to not know something that I'm supposed to do."
Both enjoy their interactions with students.
"I use real-world experience and curriculum that's aligned with major culinary schools. When students leave me, they're as well prepared for a managerial position as I can get them," Charles said.
"Personally, I love that food is so ubiquitous. Everyone needs to eat. The industry is universal, steadily growing and there's plenty of room for creativity."
Melissa said, "I like getting to know the students and hear them talk about their experiences both at ENMU and in their day-to-day lives. They're so plugged in all the time. It's a nice reminder to take a break every now and then."
Before arriving at ENMU, Charles was assistant department chair at the Art Institute of Washington. Melissa worked at a Container Store in northern Virginia.
"It's a wonderful company. I'm so excited they have one in Albuquerque now!" she said.
Charles loves working at ENMU and living in Portales.
"ENMU is the whole package: a solid institution, a small but beautiful campus and great people who are dedicated to their jobs."
Melissa said, "We're lifers, for sure. Portales is what you make it; it's not a big town at all, but with all of the things that are offered on campus, like lectures, concerts, plays, gallery shows, there's no excuse for anyone to say there's nothing to do here. I really love it. I don't think I'd ever be happy in a big city again."
Charles received a bachelor's in liberal arts and sciences at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, his master's in English at Northeastern Illinois, his culinary degree at Kendall College in Chicago and his Ph.D. in hospitality administration at Texas Tech.
Melissa says she went to Texas Tech for a couple of years. "I was not the most disciplined college student. There's always time though, right?" she laughed.
Charles says he is living his fantasy career. "I can't think of a better job than the one I have. It's what I want to do."
Melissa says her fantasy career "would probably be a professional animal cuddler. My ultimate career goal at Eastern is just to do the best job I can and help the University in any capacity that I'm able to."
In his spare time, Charles rides motorcycles and plays guitar. He is also an amateur but "enthusiastic" visual artist.
Melissa loves to bake.
"I mean, I'm no Patti Dobson [associate professor of communication], but I can bake some pretty good stuff," she joked. "I also like to shop on eBay; I'm a huge bargain shopper. I love to sing. Until we moved from Lubbock, I sang with the Lubbock Chorale for years. I also like to cross-stitch and read."
Charles says his happiest moment was getting engaged.
"Awwww! Swoon," Melissa responded. "Other than our engagement and marriage, I think my happiest moment was when I found out that Charlie got the job at Eastern and we could move out of Virginia. I was born and raised in Lubbock, and I just wanted to come back to this area. I love being here."
Melissa says the saddest moment for both of them was losing Emmie, their "wonder Husky" in 2012.
"I think if she had an epitaph, it would say, 'She loved cheese and her mama. She tolerated Charlie.'"
Charles was born in St. Louis and raised in Chicago. His mom was a chief financial officer who was "head-hunted frequently," so they moved a lot.
He was an only child and was "introverted and bookish. I loved to read sci-fi and restore old cars."
Melissa had a "fairly average childhood. I have one fabulous sibling, Mel, who lives in Austin with my sister-in-law and niece. I was bookish, too. I was always reading and listening to hair bands. I was a super shy kid."
Their four-legged children are Anna, a heeler-mix rescue, and Abby, a "slightly neurotic" black cat.
Charles' future goal includes building a house with a big shop so he can do various art projects and restore old motorcycles.
Melissa wants to fill that house with rescue animals.
Charles says he gets the most satisfaction out of his job. "The students and their enthusiasm and curiosity remind me why I started cooking professionally," he said.
Melissa finds the most satisfaction in family and friends, which includes "doing good to others. Helping when I can. Love. I try to live by the Golden Rule: 'Be kind.'"
