Love is in the Air and in the Coffee
MOUNT OLIVE – February 14 is Valentine’s Day. For University of Mount Olive alumni Scott and Kristen Satterfield, the date has extra special meaning.
“Scott proposed to me on Valentine’s Day in 2005,” Kristen said with a smile.
Fifteen years, three kids, and a coffee shop later, the pair are still happily in love.
You can see it in their interactions, and in the way that they look at one another. As Scott talks about their family and their new venture, GypsyBean Coffee Shop, Kristen, ever so discretely, reaches up to straighten his hair. He looks at her with a quirky smile. She gives him a nod and a quick wink. The kids, Elijah – 12, Finley – 8, and Magnolia – 5, are just out of arms reach, plopped down on a window seat at the shop’s entrance. An occasional giggle, tinged with mischief, fills the room as the threesome steer clear of their parents’ gaze.
Scott, who is from Erwin, and Kristen, who is from Clayton, met in their teens while at a Free Will Baptist Youth Rally. Both were active in their respective churches. After high school, Kristen enrolled at Mount Olive College, now the University of Mount Olive, to study psychology. Scott followed a year later, seeking his degree in religion.
With similar backgrounds and many of the same interests, Scott and Kristen became best friends. Both were the first in their families to seek a four year degree. Both sang in the Mount Olive Concert Choir. She was an alto. He was a baritone. Scott was SGA President and Pickle King. Kristen was a member of Free Spirit traveling and singing throughout Eastern NC during the FWB Church Dinner season. Outside of school, Scott worked at Pizza Village and as youth minister at Lee’s Chapel OFWB Church in Sampson County. Kristen worked at Andy’s, now Highway 55. The pair became a little nostalgic as they were reminiscing about their college days.
“There was not a lot to do in Mount Olive back when we were students,” Scott said.
“It was before I had a cell phone, so we didn’t text, we actually talked,” Kristen added. “Many of our conversations were had while eating cheesesteaks and fries after I got off work at 11 PM.”
Somewhere along the way, both Kristen and Scott decided their relationship was growing into something more than friendship.
“She was and still is so charismatic, warm, and always fun to be around,” Scott stated. Likewise, Kristen described Scott as strong, handsome, and hilarious. “We laughed a lot back then, and we still do. I think that is pretty awesome,” she shared.
Scott graduated from Mount Olive in 2002. Kristen followed a year later. They were married in October of 2005 at Cragmont Assembly, the Free Will Baptist retreat in Black Mountain, NC. Since that time, Scott has worked in youth ministry at several Free Will Baptist churches, including Black Jack OFWB Church and Stoney Creek OFWB Church.
Scott currently serves as a bi-vocational minister at Daly’s Chapel FWB Church in Seven Springs, while also working with the City of Goldsboro in the Development Office. Kristen is a teacher and Process Champion at Wayne Christian School. Both are excited about their latest venture, GypsyBean Coffee Shop located on Center Street in downtown Goldsboro. Their signature drink is the bohemian rhapsody made with salted caramel, white chocolate, and hazelnut. It is often served with a heart shaped dollop of cream on top.
“People love it,” Kristen said from behind the counter as she hands over a cup to a repeat customer.
On the right hand wall of the shop in big, bold letters are the words, Do Good Things. It is a motto that the couple tries to carry out in their daily lives, and one that was fostered during their time at the University of Mount Olive.
“There were so many people that helped us during our time at Mount Olive,” Scott stated. “People that made sacrifices of time and resources to make sure that we made it. So, to me, even beyond our education, I think the most valuable things we gained while at college were the many relationships we built, coupled with solidifying our own values.”
Kristen chimed in, “We can both say for sure that we wouldn’t be where we are today if it were not for Mount Olive. As for our relationship, I can also tell you, with confidence, that Scott is still my favorite person, and I would do our life all over again.”
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has education service centers in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Research Triangle Park, Washington, and Jacksonville. For more information, visit www.umo.edu.
