Elise Hernandez met Erik Wieseman when she was hired as an intern at Lincoln advertising agency Archrival in 2009. Erik had already graduated from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in 2008, he was working at the Lincoln Journal Star.
The couple met through mutual friends who were all alumni of CoJMC. They met on a Friday night at a party after work and were friends for three years before they started dating.
“The advertising community in Lincoln is strong in friendship. A lot of us stuck together when we were at the J School and we stayed close once we went off into the real world,” Erik said.
Erik left the Lincoln Journal Star and started working at an agency called Thought District as a copywriter. After graduating in 2010, Elise interviewed for a job in the account management department and got it.
“I remember I was really trying to prove myself as a young person in this industry, so I had strict expectations and was pushy with timelines,” Elise said. “Erik liked to take his time with his writing so we definitely butted heads in the beginning.”
They worked together for a year before Erik left to work for the Nebraska Book Company and helped launch its student-facing brand. It was when they stopped working together at Thought District that they went on their first date.
Elise decided to take charge and ask Erik out because she heard from their work friends that he had always been interested in dating her.
“I remember thinking he had a weird way of showing it because he was always so cranky with me,” Elise said.
“Being cranky is my love language,” Erik said.
The had been dating for about a year when the Nebraska Book Company relocated to the Chicago area, so Erik decided to go back to working at Thought District as a brand strategist.
A few months later Thought District became Agent, and the couple spent an additional four years working there.
They got married in 2016 and shortly after getting married, Elise got a call from Archrival about an account director opening She’s been there ever since.
In 2017, Erik left Agent to work in the marketing department at Nelnet, and continues there serving as associate creative director.
These days, Elise and Erik stay busy spending time with family, catching up with industry friends and CoJMC alumni, and taking care of Ford, their one and half year old.
Working and building their careers together in the same industry has worked out great for the Wiesemans. Erik examines things through a more creative and strategic lens, while Elise is more business-minded and client focused.
“I always have someone to bounce ideas off of, and he can offer an alternative perspective for any issues I run into at work because we work on different sides of the business,” Elise said.
Their advice to students and new graduates is to be open to making connections with people while in school and especially graduation.
“It’s not really about impressing people; it’s about being friendly and open,” Erik said. “You just never know what could happen.”
“It goes beyond finding love too, the connections you make can help lead you to some really great places,” Elise said. “Wherever you’re supposed to be, you’ll get there.”
