ABOUT US
About Laura
A green loving, fun running, yoga practicing, tap dancing, and tennis dabbling aventurera (adventurer). Laura grew up in Toms River, NJ with 3 other fun siblings Jen, Andy, and James with 2 loving parents and a dream of a childhood. She got to dance, sing, travel, and go on adventures with friends and family! She studied spanish and decided to study business in school. After getting to travel abroad twice to study in London, England and live with an awesome family in Malaga, Spain, she graduated with a degree in Economics and International Business and completed a minor in Spanish from Villanova University in PA . Laura joined a Financal Leadership Development Program within Johnson and Johnson where she got to live and work in Puerto Rico and then back in Pennsylvannia. With an opportunity to move south, Laura accepted a position at Cordis (within Johnson & Johnson) in 2009 in an 'almost' foreign country, Miami. There she met wondeful friends, joined Toastmasters and met someone very special!
Laura currently lives in Melbourne, FL and works with an awesome (yes awesome!) 'family' at Running Zone as Events Manager of Running Zone Foundation. She gets to play at work by planning running events in the community to help improve health and fitness!
She is very excited about this amazing new chapter in her life, to spend the rest of her life with the man of her dreams and can't wait to share this amazing day with family and friends!
How we met
Laura was invited by a friend within her Finance group at Cordis (a Johnson & Johnson company) to join her for a lunch meeting for a group that works on public speaking, Toastmasters. While she didn't quite know what she was getting into, she noticed the extremely attractive IT guy she had spotted around the office was also going into this meeting. Her intrigue was ignited. In all honesty, the best part of her time at Cordis was spent at those Toastmasters meetings with her new found friends. After about a year of geo-caching and speeches, el presidente, JanCarlo, invited Laura to join a group of his friends for a relay run. This was a 6 hour relay for a team of 4 runners to see how far the group could run. 'Laps in Judgement' as we were, we ran a combined mileage of 37.2 miles!
Laura moved north that month to Melbourne to live nearer to her sister and start a new chapter of her life. JanCarlo and Laura kept in touch over the summer. She called when she joined a new Toastmasters club in Melbourne. He called when he started his MBA. After a few failed attempts for Laura to meet up with JanCarlo during visits to Miami to see friends, JanCarlo planned a trip with some friends to visit Laura in Melbourne. The friends bailed, but JanCarlo still went on November 6th. She suggested a movie, he suggested they make sangria. That might have been the momement she knew he was her soul mate. Laura taught JanCarlo how to row and they had their first of many workouts together!
JanCarlo said that even though they lived in different cities 172 miles apart, that it could still work. And he was right. Love knows no distance. Partly because JanCarlo was able to work remotely and partly because they cared so much for each other, the two planned, organized, and visited. Throughout 1 1/2 years of dating, they spent no more than 2 weeks apart (only for his international travel!). Many friends brought us together. Thank you to our friends and family that help our love grow!
About JanCarlo (JC)
A red loving, salsa dancing, guitar playing, sweet, caring, fitness enthusiast from Cali who can run, yoga, and sing! JanCarlo (JC) grew up in Miami and in Colombia. His wonderful mother exposed him to the wonders of salsa and merengue music, taught him the importance of helping the less fortunate, and in many ways shaped him to be the man he is today. He has 2 younger sisters, Brigitte and Valentina, who he taught how to play cards - the family's favorite pastime - and strategy games. He also has 3 older sisters Kelly, Karen, and Yuliet and an older brother, Alex who live in Colombia.
JC studied Industrial & Systems Engineering with a focus on Operations Research at Florida International University in Miami. He had the honor of representing his school in various engineering competitions and publishing a research paper in the Naval Research Logistics Journal. Upon graduating, he started Johnson & Johnson's Information Technology Leadership Program (ITLDP). He became the president of Toastmasters for Cordis Miami Lakes, which little did he know, would lead him to his future wife! A girl can appreciate a guy that can communicate well! Then in July of 2013, JC obtained an MBA degree from the University of Florida. Go Gators!
JC currently lives in Miami (Pembroke Pines), FL and works for Johnson & Johnson, Medical Devices, as an IT Manager in the Global Planning group implementing Supply Chain Systems around the world! He is really good at their long distance relationship from being on the phone all day! His group appreciates how wonderful he is!
Laura & JanCarlo's Wedding
March 30, 2014