Ferrum College Sweethearts Celebrate 27th Valentine’s Day Together

Aaron Conover ’93 and Hillary Hardison ’94 celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary this past September. These sweethearts met at Ferrum College in 1991 when Hardison visited Conover’s dorm room to watch Fantasia with mutual friends. Hardison was hooked when Conover answered the door wearing an apron and carrying a bottle of 409 cleaner; “I knew she was coming over, so I was cleaning,” he explains. “Four guys living together are pretty gross.”

The couple spent their days at Ferrum College hiking, caving, and creating art together. Conover graduated a year prior to Hardison and followed his outdoor recreation career to Oregon. She finished her degree in philosophy with a minor in art in May 1994 and the couple was married in September 1994. They spent their honeymoon traveling by moving van from Virginia to Oregon so Hardison could join her new husband out west. 

The couple continued to follow their dreams which eventually lead them back to Virginia. Conover is now employed by Ferrum College as the director of Ferrum Outdoors and adjunct instructor in health and human performance. He also co-owns Down River Outfitters, which offers scenic river tours on the Jackson River, James River, New River, and Staunton River. Hardison teaches gifted art classes through Roanoke County Schools and Aurora Artisans & Frameshop, and operates her own art business, Hardison Art, LLC.

Their story hasn’t always been unabashed wedded bliss. In February 2016, Hardison was diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer and underwent extensive surgery with a long recovery. Shortly after, her mother passed away and she was laid off from the job she held at the time. Through those difficult times, Conover remained her rock and once healing began, they decided together that it was time to start living life to the fullest. It was then that the pair really honed in on their entrepreneurial adventures with Down River Outfitters and Hardison Art LLC. “We let each other pursue our passions and we support the other,” Conover explains. 

What word would the couple use to describe their 25 years together? “Adventure,” quips Hardison. “That word dominates our life. I wanted adventure in my life. I knew with Aaron, it would never be boring.”

“Or lucrative,” Conover says, with a grin.

Happy Valentine’s Day to these Ferrum College sweethearts.

Learn more about Down River Outfitters here: http://www.driftboatflyfishing.com/ and Hardison Art, LLC here: www.hardisonartllc.com.