"[12] Geauga was coeducational, and Garfield was attracted to one of his classmates, Lucretia Rudolph, whom he later married.[13] To support himself at Geauga, he worked as a carpenter's assistant and teacher.[14] The need to go from town to town to find work as a teacher aggravated Garfield, and he developed a dislike of what he called "place-seeking", which became, he said, "the law of my life."[15] In later years, he astounded his friends by disregarding positions that could have been his with little politicking.[15] Garfield had attended church more to please his mother than to worship God, but in his late teens he underwent a religious awakening. He attended many camp meetings, which led to his being born again on March 4, 1850, when he was baptized into Christ by being submerged in the icy waters of the Chagrin River.[16][a]
After he left Geauga, Garfield worked for a year at various jobs, including teaching jobs.[18] Finding that some New Englanders worked their way through college, Garfield determined to do the same and sought a school that could prepare him for the entrance examinations. 