Judson and Polly Kadolph

Judson Kadolph (C'92) began his journey at the University of Dubuque as a freshman in fall 1989. He knew he wanted to go to school for flight operations and even had his private pilot license prior to beginning his college journey. Judson grew up on a farm in Hubbard, Iowa, where he found a passion in machinery and technology.

Polly (Rademacher) Kadolph (C'91, MBA'05) began her college journey at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse taking science and medical classes during her freshman and sophomore years. However, she discovered that that her passion was in flight operations and transferred to the University of Dubuque in fall 1989.

Judson and Polly both were enrolled in similar classes, but they really got to know each other while pledging Alpha Eta Rho, the coed international professional college aviation fraternity. One of their earliest memories together involved painting an Alpha Eta Rho sign for Homecoming. Of course, the paint they used was oil based and somehow Judson managed to get it all over his hands, so they jumped in the car and went to the gas station and used gasoline to get the paint off. They continued to get to know each other while taking classes, working in the flight office, and participating on flight team. They eventually started dating in spring 1990.

The pair enjoyed taking on leadership roles. Polly became the flight team captain, Judson served as the Alpha Eta Rho president, and both resident assistants and worked in the admission office as telecounselors. Judson graduated in December 1992 and Polly graduated in August 1991.

After graduating, Judson became an airport manager and offered flight instruction services in West Union, Iowa. Polly started her career as a flight instructor in Texas for three months before instructing at UD for four years. Polly then moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, while Judson moved to Monroe, Michigan. After that, Polly moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then Judson moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Eventually, Polly landed a job at United Airlines, flying out of Chicago, Illinois, and Judson started his career at UPS out of Louisville, Kentucky.

Their shared passion for flight and aviation was the building block for their relationship. They understood their careers were going to be busy and stressful. They knew they would need to make sacrifices to advance those careers. Their mutual, unwavering support of each other and understanding of being career-focused made their relationship even stronger.

"We grew individually and shared the passion of flight. We supported each other because we both knew the investment the other put in," Judson said.

After eight years of dating, Judson decided it was time to pop the question. Judson and Polly took time out of their busy work schedules to go on a cruise with Polly's family and close friends. While the initial plan was for Judson to propose back at his apartment with champagne and roses, he was called in to cover a flight. Although the original plan was spoiled, Judson was going to ask Polly to be his wife. After flying all night, Judson came home and the two packed up and started the drive to the cruise. Suddenly, Judson pulled over and handed Polly a rose and brought out the ring.

"I am a hard one to surprise, but I was very surprised! It was the perfect timing. We got to share the news with all of my family and friends within hours of getting engaged and it was fun to spend that time celebrating," Polly said.

Judson recalled asking Polly's father for permission for his daughter's hand in marriage.

"I called Polly's dad about a week before the proposal. He was a very traditional man, but he handed the phone over to Polly's mom and made sure I asked her as well," Judson said.

After dating for so long, the couple didn't waste much time wedding planning. They were engaged in January 1998 and were married October 10, 1998. The couple became husband and wife on a beautiful fall day in Polly's hometown, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The wedding ceremony was held at St. John's Catholic Church with the reception following at The Barn. To honor their shared love of aviation, they made sure to have an airplane pinata at the reception for all the kids to enjoy.

Many Spartans were in attendance for the joyous day. Members of the wedding party included Candace (Stender) Everts (C'93), Andy Ferguson (C'94), and Clare (Muhlhausen) Ferguson (C'91). Many others from UD were there as well including friends from the aviation program, coworkers, professors, and fellow flight instructors.

"It was quite generational. We had our professors, classmates, and even some who we were flight instructors for," Judson said.

Their schedules were still hectic, so they decided to have a shorter honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii. Both working for airlines, they decided to take their chances and "jumpseat" to Hawaii. They knew there was a chance of not being able to fly together or even arrive in Hawaii at the same time, but they took the chance and flew for free. Fate was on their side, however, as they were able to get seats together to and from Hawaii. They spent five days in tropical paradise and enjoyed luaus, biking, snorkeling, and the Road to Hana.

After their honeymoon, the newlyweds went right back to their busy lives. Both Polly and Judson upgraded to captain. They were so busy and only had 10 days off a month, and their days off hardly coincided with the others, but the couple decided to plant some roots and got an apartment together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At first Judson's home base was out of St. Louis, so he would commute to St. Louis from Milwaukee for his shifts, soon after, Judson was transferred to JFK Airport, so would have to commute to New York.

"It wasn't ideal, but we both cared so much about building our careers. We relied on each others support," Judson said. "A lot of people think that the traveling and the life of a pilot is so wonderful, but it is not as great as it sounds. Although we might get to travel to these awesome places, we are still working. Having Polly as my support system got me through it. The divorce rate of couples with flight careers is very high and I just feel blessed that we both understand this life and appreciate each other."

The two were in their groove and thought that they were in their forever careers. Then their worlds changed on September 11, 2001. Nearly 10,000 pilots were furloughed at the time, and that unfortunately included Polly. She was unsure of what was next in her career until Kevin Foley (C'93, MBA'02), who was a UD employee at the time, reached out to Polly and asked if she had ever considered teaching. Polly recalled how much she loved being a flight instructor and took a leap of faith and returned to her alma mater. Polly started teaching for UD in August of that year and earned her masters of business administration degree in 2005.

Although Judson was still a captain for UPS, the couple gave up their apartment in Milwaukee and moved to Dubuque so Polly was close to UD. They recalled how exciting it was to reconnect with their UD family and were truly proud to be a part of the University of Dubuque community again.

"I absolutely love teaching! Working with students and watching them accomplish different skills is so rewarding. I love seeing their success," Polly said.

After getting settled in Dubuque, Polly and Judson decided they wanted to start a family. Their first child, Garrett, was born in 2003 and then their daughter, Jenna, was born in 2006.

While the kids were growing up, Judson was working one week on and one week off. He feels blessed to have this schedule so he could be present in his children's lives and enjoyed helping with science fair projects and going on field trips. He admires Polly for being the rock of the family while he was away.

While still working their busy schedules, the couple made sure there was time for hobbies and family traditions. Garrett was a baseball player so they traveled to watch his games quite often. Jenna was active in volleyball, tennis and volunteering at Finley Hospital. Along with that, they love to travel. Their most memorable vacations were to Alaska and Sanibel Island, Florida. They recently bought a convertible and find any excuse to go for a drive.

There is no doubt that the Kadolphs found the perfect balance of building fulfilling, successful careers while also being focused on their relationship and family. The couple will celebrate 25 years of marriage this October. Polly has been at UD for 20 years, currently serving as an associate professor of aviation and Judson has been with UPS for 20 years. Garrett is at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and Jenna is a junior in high school.