by Hailey Entze, DSU Heritage Foundation Student Worker
Falling in love doesn’t always make sense. We fall in love in the most unlikely places and with the most unlikely people. For instance, take Josh and Crystal Askvig. When they first met, they really didn’t like each other. “I thought he was a pompous and arrogant jerk. He thought I was a snobby, stuck up cheerleader,” Crystal stated. Even though they didn’t care for each other, they couldn’t get away from each other either.
After meeting through friends they continued to run into one another. They were both Student Ambassadors and paired as SOAR (Student Orientation, Advisement, and Registration) leaders for a summer. To top it all off, that same summer they were neighbors in the Altringer Apartments. “Over the course of the summer we became good friends who started pulling pranks on each other and each other’s roommates,” explained Josh. “Eventually we both realized we liked each other and started dating.”
Their first date wasn’t even really a date. One night after a Student Ambassadors meeting, Josh asked Crystal if she wanted to go to Taco Bell. Afterwards, he asked what she wanted to do. Not ready to go home yet, she blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Let’s drive to Belfield,” she said. Off they went and by the time they turned around to come back to Dickinson they were laughing and holding hands. “I like to tell people that our first date was about as small town North Dakota as it gets…Taco Bell and a gas station in Belfield,” Crystal said.
Josh and Crystal dated for about a year before getting engaged. Even though the proposal didn’t exactly go as planned. Josh wanted to recreate the night they drove to Belfield, so he snuck into Crystal’s apartment and spelled out “Will u marry me?” in plastic glow-in-the-dark stars that he stuck to the ceiling. Unfortunately, Crystal started to feel sick earlier that night and broke out in hives. Josh didn’t know whether to propose or take her to the ER. Unsure, he finally just said, “Look at the ceiling.” Crystal read the stars and turned around to find him on one knee. Coincidentally, after saying yes, Crystal’s hives cleared up. “I like to say getting engage was ‘written in the stars’; Josh likes to say that getting engaged is a magic cure for hives,” Crystal said.
Since they were both still in college and very active on campus, they took their engagement pictures using the college as their backdrop. In addition, they skipped the wedding favors for guests and used the money to purchase a brick in the Flag Plaza on campus. That brick has their name and wedding date etched on it so they are forever a part of DSU.
The couple got married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dickinson on December 20, 2003. That date fell on the first Saturday at the conclusion of the fall semester. Since they were still in college and most of their friends were in the wedding party it made their wedding the best finals week party ever. They danced to “How Did I Fall in Love with You” by the Backstreet Boys, a song Josh had put on a mixed tape that he gave to Crystal when they were dating. That song still holds a special place in their hearts.
Fifteen years later, the Askvig family makes their home in Bismarck where Josh is the State Director of AARP. Meanwhile, Crystal is a Licensed Master Addiction Counselor at the Heartview Foundation. They have three kids: McKale (9), Kennedy (6), and Layla (5). The family pets, Oliver and Fitzgerald, make their family complete. According to Crystal, “Our life is rarely dull and our house is never quiet,” Crystal remarked.
Although marriage isn’t always easy, the good and bad times have only made them closer. “Two words: Show up. In the good times and the bad we show up,” explained Crystal. Their marriage isn’t perfect, but it’s real. They try to set that example for their children. Imperfections in life are okay. “There are lots of reasons we shouldn’t still be married, but we both believe in each other and are committed to making it work and last,” stated Josh.
Crystal has a bit of relationship advice for DSU students navigating through their own love story while in college. She will be the first to admit that she went against the norm by saying that sometimes it’s okay to go to bed mad. Sometimes sleep and a break from the disagreement is needed to put the whole thing in perspective. She also suggested keeping a dry erase marker in the bathroom to leave love notes and jokes for each other on the bathroom mirror. Most importantly, have fun together. “Laugh, play pranks, dance in the kitchen, eat gummy bears in bed, go on dates, have hope always and love one another like crazy,” she said.
That advice has lead the Askvigs to the love they have for each other today. Josh considers Crystal the ground wire to his livewire. She is the perfect balance to his strengths and weaknesses. “She loves unwaveringly, even when I probably don’t deserve it. I see it and feel it and am blessed to have her as my partner in life,” he said. Crystal agreed, saying that the fact that they’re polar opposites is what balances them. She also said that Josh’s drive and determination inspires her. She admires that he pushes himself to get bigger and better at everything he does and doesn’t settle for good enough. “I always felt that it was so cliché to say ‘when you find the one, you will just know,’ until it happened to me. Josh is my soul mate and my true love,” Crystal stated.
No matter where their journey has taken them, DSU has always stayed in their hearts. It’s where they transitioned to adulthood. It’s also where they began their careers and where they met each other. “[DSU] will always hold a special place in my heart,” Josh said. Crystal added, “I’ll forever be loyal to Dickinson State and am proud to be a Blue Hawk.”
