Criminology Club Leads to Partners in Crime: Allie & Donnie Wilson’s Love Story

By the time Allie was a senior, Donnie was just starting his journey at Mount St. Joseph University--Little did they know, a whirlwind romance was soon to follow.

Allie grew up in Bright, Indiana and attended East Central High School. Donnie attended Elder High School where he joined the wrestling team. It was through the Mount's head coach that he learned about wrestling at Mount St. Joseph University. Allie, however, was drawn to the Mount because of the small class sizes.

A Criminology Case of Love

After beginning his first year at the Mount, it did not take long for Donnie to cross paths with Allie. They both held a shared interest in criminology. Allie was majoring in Psychology and Criminology while Donnie was majoring in Criminology with a concentration in Victimology.

Allie, eager to gain hands-on experience beyond the classroom, became the Vice President of the Criminology Club. It was September 30, 2018, and their first meeting of the year was being held. Allie clearly remembers how she was walking down the hallway and saw a guy ahead of her wearing a blue hoodie.

She recalls how she thought to herself, "he's cute," and he walked into the same room as the Criminology Club meeting.

After the meeting, she found Donnie's Instagram account and followed him. They began to message each other and a few months later, Donnie asked Allie to be his girlfriend, and she said, "yes!"

They continued to spend time going to events and even after Allie graduated, she continued to spend time at the Mount hanging out with Donnie. "We spent a lot of time on campus going to different events and spending time with each other," Allie remembers. Even after she graduated, Allie found herself on campus a lot hanging out with Donnie, having lunch together or taking walks around campus.

A Law Enforcement-Themed Wedding and Careers

After graduation, Allie began her job working with Butler County Prosecutor's office in 2021 as a Victim Advocate. Donnie was already employed as a Corrections officer at Hamilton County's Juvenile Justice Center.

In 2022, they bought their first condo together. To celebrate this exciting step in their lives, they had a housewarming party and invited their family and close friends.

At one point during the party, Allie was in the kitchen making another round of food when Donnie called her to the living room. Allie remembers that moment when she walked over.

"Donnie asked me to take a seat in front of the fireplace and then called our dog over. Our dog was wearing a harness with a small pouch with a zipper. Donnie opened the small pouch and pulled out a ring, got down on one knee and in front of our friends and family, he proposed!"

On October 4, 2024, Allie and Donnie were married. Their shared love for Criminology that started before they first met at the Mount and their careers in the legal field inspired their law enforcement-themed wedding. Allie reflected on the theme says that this wedding theme noting, "it only seemed right" since Criminology club brought them together.

Allie and Donnie have been together for six years, they have three dogs, a new house and their dream jobs. Donnie is now a Cincinnati Police officer which has been his dream job since high school. Allie is currently a Criminalist whose main priority is to assist in the investigation of cold cases.

Not only did joining Criminology Club lead to helping them pursue their academic and career goals, it also led them to finding a life partner. Allie says that her and Donnie's paths would not have crossed "if it wasn't for the Mount and specifically Dr. Carter," who asked her to be the Vice President of Criminology Club.

And it all started on one September morning in 2018 in the hallway outside of Classroom 19 where Criminology Club was held.