Cavalier Couples

We entered law school in the Fall of 1989 and were both assigned to Section A. First a supportive friendship developed. It later blossomed into love. We were married in 1997. We now have two children, the oldest of which is graduating Howard University tomorrow and attending Howard Law School in the Fall. Our youngest is a sophomore in high school.

Whenever we drive north to DC, we always drive through Charlottesville and reminisce.

Matt and I first caught each others’ eye working at Ragged Mountain Running Shop the summer after our third year. We rekindled our romance back at the shop after I had graduated and returned to Charlottesville to work at RMRS full time and Matt was finishing his Masters degree at the Ed School. Matt was wooed by my singing and cooking while I was wowed by his ability to run very far very fast and smitten with his love for poetry. We got married in Cville in 2010 and now live with our two boys in New Haven where Matt is a track coach at Yale. Photo by Sarah Shields (Col ‘05)

Tishia and I met spring fling of my 2nd year when she came to visit. We both had been to the Fugees concert and for different reasons were late going to the after party. Tishia and her host were late because they just took to long walking. My car had been towed making me late. Due to being late we couldn’t get into the party and as we were walking back I asked if they needed a ride. Tishia and I talked grabbed food together and then said goodbye. The next year when Tishia entered as a 1st year we met again day 1 and began hanging out until eventually we were always together. We fell in love and were married while we were still students at UVA. Now 23 years later we’ve been married now for 21 of those years and have twin girls Brianna and LeTia Wilson who are baby wahoos in their first year at UVA and a son Brice Wilson that is a junior in high school who is also looking at UVA as a possibility.

One day in 1982 , Louise Phipps was attending the University of Virginia and driving to her job when she saw a stunningly beautiful man in a dark suit with the sun reflecting off his dark hair. She shouted "hey" out her window, and he turned and waved; her heart fluttered. Then about a week later, her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and the fraternity Zete Psi had a country party. Bill Senft found her in the crowd almost as soon as she arrived, and he said, "You're the girl with the red lips." They had been on each other's minds all week. They spent the whole evening sitting together in the barn loft and were engaged two months later. Louise and Bill have now been married for 35 years, and it all started with that one moment at the intersection.

It took a few times, but the universe conspired to keep us crossing paths. We fell in love with Charlottesville and each other. We got married in the chapel in 1998 and are about to celebrate our 21st anniversary on Feb 21st. Who needs Valentine’s day? ;)

One Thursday night early in 1977, I went to the International Club for the first time with a friend. A young man in a red turtleneck went by. I learned from my friend that John was a Greek grad student in physics. John and I found ourselves upstairs, where there was a blackboard, and I blurted out the first thing I could think of: "Hey, I can write something in Greek." As he looked on politely, I wrote the name of something I remembered from college travels...Close-Up Toothpaste (ΚΛΟΣ-ΑΠ)! He stared at me for a moment and then disappeared. Later that evening -- to my great chagrin -- he asked out a beautiful neighbor of mine, but I later learned that he spent the date quizzing her about me.

Soon afterwards, we had our first date at the Mousetrap on the Corner, sharing an enormous piece of cheesecake. The rest was history. Four weeks later, pacing around the tiny apartment on Woodrow Street I shared with a landscape architecture student, John proposed to me. Four months later we were married in the US, followed by a big (but not fat) Greek wedding in Athens in December '77. We soon moved into married student housing , F-7 University Gardens, where we remained until we graduated with our PhD's (Psych and Physics), to which John also added an MBA.

Several careers, two wonderful kids, and many, many family visits to Greece later, we still are very thankful for our amazing University of Virginia romance.

Jon and Cammie met on student council and quickly fell into love! They dated over the course of the summer before Fourth Year but then parted ways (don’t we all have some growing up to do in our 20s?). After graduation, they serendipitously reconnected and were married within a year! They now have a beautiful daughter who they named — you guessed it! — Virginia.

I was a third year law student and Toby had just started her first year. While I was making plans for life after law school, the last thing I expected was to become lovesick over a silly little first year - but that's exactly what happened. While we had a pretty rocky start, both dating other people, we really hit our stride my last semester of school. I graduated and lived at home in Fredericksburg, VA for a year. I made weekly commutes to UVA to visit Toby on weekends, and our relationship blossomed. Finally, one day, I decided to propose. I made us a secret reservation at a Bed and Breakfast just outside of Charlottesville. I went early and bought an array of delicious chocolate treats (Toby's favorites) and displayed them around the room, interspersed with rose petals and love notes. I cleverly (so I thought) planted the engagement ring inside one of the chocolate treats. We went to dinner nearby and returned to the room after dinner for "dessert". With my heart racing, I opened the door to find all of my handiwork ruined. The chocolates were gone! Only the wrappers remained. Panicked, I thought I had been robbed by a remorseless burglar with a massive sweet tooth. Upon closer inspection, my ring remained unharmed, still in the wrapper, oddly enough. Turns out, the house owner's dog made his way into our room and demolished the sweets. Undaunted, I got down on one knee and proposed. Despite the suddenly very unromantic setting, Toby said yes. I guess it really is the thought that counts. Later and still too excited to sleep, I laid in bed listening to my heart racing, thinking about the exciting future that awaits. The pristine summer night was quiet and still, and I relished my first few moments of being engaged. Despite an eventful evening, Toby rested blissfully on my arm, and the night was perfectly quiet except for the periodic moans and groans of the lactose intolerant dog who ate way too much.

John and I met at a going away party for a mutual friend at a house near the downtown mall. I knew everyone there except for John and vice versa. As the house party started to wind down we all sauntered to the Blue Light Grill downtown for one last beverage. I sat down next to John at the bar, determined to find out how he fit into my group of graduate school friends. A couple of hours and a lot of laughs later, the rest is history. We've been married over 10 years, have two awesome little boys, and still live in the Charlottesville area.

We met our first year but after his failed attempt at flirting we remained as friends until after the first dance of our second year. After our first date he asked me to be his girlfriend and the rest was history. He proposed to me our third year, a couple of weeks after I crossed into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. What a surprise! 22 years later we still represent UVA all the way from Texas and our two daughters bleed orange and blue. UVA will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Dave and I met second semester of our third year. It was February 11, 1989. Three days before Valentine's Day. We both hated Valentine's Day. We met at a birthday party for a mutual friend and walked home together after the party. It turned out that we both lived in Lambeth Field and had never met. He was a stone's throw away from my apartment. Dave was an avid cyclist and I saw him pedaling around campus quite a bit after that. We hung out a lot that spring, we especially enjoyed sunning ourselves in the field behind Lambeth. We graduated in spring 1990. Dave was an economics and psychology major and I was a biology major. I went on to the Curry School and received a Masters in Teaching in 1992. We stayed together and were married in 1993. Our favorite memories include: watching "It's a Wonderful Life" in Old Cabell Hall at Christmas; going to Clemons Library to study and watch old Woody Allen movies (which you could check out and watch there); hanging out at The Corner and sitting on the lawn last May to watch our son, Michael, graduate.

Laurie and I met in 1967, our senior year. She had entered UVA the year before. This was before UVA officially admitted undergraduate women. She had already been at two colleges so could not go to Mary Washington and then transfer to UVA for her senior year to get her speech pathology degree(BS in Ed.) So she was allowed as a third year student in 1966.
In 1968, we both lived at the 1800 Jefferson apartments and that fall we met when I came upstairs to complain about the noise she and her three room mates were making. It is actually more complicated than that; but, suffice it to say after I invited her to go to the Virginia -Army game at West Point, and she declined, we were inseparable.

After graduating we both planned to go to graduate school at UVA. I had little money so, I took the job of administrative officer at the Federal Executive Institute which would open that fall. Laurie had already found an apartment with other UVA women. Laurie came with me to look for a place for me at a garage apartment in an estate near Ivy. It was a great place, I could have a garden and it had great views of the Blue Ridge, plus the occasional fox hunt that could be seen from the estate. So I told the owner I would take it. She said "Oh, I thought you were a couple. I only rent to married couples. So I said "Could you give me a week or so." When we got in the car Laurie ask what I meant. So being the romantic I am, I said "It's a nice place, why don't we get married?"

So we were married in the fall of 1968. After we both got our masters degrees we moved to Northern Virginia and lived there for 41 years. I worked for a number of federal agencies and Laurie as a Speech/Language Therapist in Fairfax County Schools. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last year. We have three children and four grand children. We are enjoying our "semi" retirement living on a small lake in Northern PA, near our oldest and his family.

It all started with a case of mistaken identity. My friend in Hilary's med school class invited her to come to a pool party. Hilary was filthy, covered in Chlorox, and dressed as the maid brigade because she had spent the day scrubbing out the bathtub and bathroom in her apartment on JPA. Our mutual friend invited her to the party anyway and told her not to worry because it was a pool party and "everyone would smell like chlorine". Our mutual friend introduced me to Hilary under the mistaken impression that my name was Nick (my name is Andy by the way). I thought that she would make a great match for my roommate but he turned out to be such a dud during the party that I felt really bad for keeping her out. I then spent the rest of the evening trying to remember that my name was now "Nick" because I didn't have the heart to correct her until the very end of the night. It all turned out for the best however because five years later we were married (still are) and to this day the smell of chlorine reminds me of that day. It all started however as a case of mistaken identity.

We met in the History Department as graduate students. I received a BA in History at UNC-Chapel Hill. Tina (Christine) acquired her History bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke. I was born in Charleston, SC. Tina was born in Charlottesville, as her father Jack Stewart was a professor of Physics at UVA. After 1/2 years of dating we were married in St. Paul's across the street from the Rotunda. Our reception was on the Lawn in the faculty pavilion. I receive my MA in 1981 after my first year of graduate course, then I proceeded on to five years of PhD courses and taught history courses for five more years. Tina received a Master in Historical Editing in 1984, working on the European travel journal of one of the Ambler family of colonial Virginia. In addition to teaching history courses I worked as a researcher at the Papers of George Washington in Alderman Library. When we departed UVA I took on a teaching position in Boca Raton, Florida for two years. Since returning to Charleston, my native city, we have both had a life of teaching, writing history: I at the College of Charleston, the Citadel; Tina as a special needs instructor in several institutions. I have published a biography of Patrick Lynch, Third Catholic Bishop of Charleston and am currently writing/producing a book on the History of the Irish in Charleston, South Carolina. He have five adult children, all of whom are thriving in their chosen career paths. I am a Cavalier fans whenever the are not opposing the Tar Heels. Tina & I are still frequent visitors to Charlottesville and our children have jointly inherited their grandfather's house on Dominion Drive.

We met as graduate students in the School of Architecture at UVA. Nick was in the architecture program and Dani in the landscape architecture program - how complimentary! Our friendship began over a love of publications and design - we co-edited UVA's design journal "lunch". After many late nights mulling over layouts and copy, Dani asked Nick out. Throughout the rest of graduate school we traveled together and often escaped the studio to enjoy many of the area's vineyards.
We lived in Boston for three years after graduation, where we were married in 2016. Now, we are happy to be living in Capitol Hill in Washington DC with our cat Nutmeg and puppy Birdie!

Jeff and I met at Coup DeVille's restaurant in early 2000, when he asked me where I was from. In an effort to appear more interesting and exotic, I told him I was from Miami. This is not true; I am from northern Virginia. He, though, actually IS from Miami, and was quite excited to hear about our shared hometown. Having never even visited Miami, I had nothing to corroborate my story. I had to come clean very quickly, and we continued talking for several hours. Nineteen years, two kids, and several moves later we are living near his (and my adopted) hometown in South Florida.

We first met on VMOO, the annual three-day hiking trip that takes place a week before med school starts so the new incoming class can get to know each other. We only spoke briefly on that trip, but Caleb ended up in a Practice of Medicine small group with some of my best friends from college who were also starting at UVA, so we quickly ended up in the same close-knit social group. We started dating during our third year of med school and got married 6 days after graduation. Since then we've been through four states, two residencies, fellowship, and military service, and are raising two potential future Wahoos. From Friday nights on the Corner to dissecting in the anatomy lab to gelato on the Downtown Mall to all-nighters in the Claude Moore library, we have amazing memories of Charlottesville and UVA!

When I first laid eyes on Luana after arriving on Grounds, I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had every seen. Unfortunately, she was in a committed relationship and I didn’t have the courage to let her know how I felt. Fast forward many years later, we randomly reconnected at Luana’s sorority function in Atlantic City, NJ and I was formally introduced to her by a mutual friend and former UVA classmate. We spend the whole time dancing and talking. It was an amazing evening. Two years later after a long distance romance, I moved to Maryland. We were married three years after that. I still have to pinch myself to make sure that is all real. How many of us are lucky enough to get a second chance to marry our dream girl? I guess I’m one lucky Wahoo.

I was lucky enough to meet Kate about as fresh-eyed as I could have at UVA. It was only our second day in Charlottesville, and Kate stumbled upon some of my Webb suite mates playing frisbee out on OHill field (as one does). She accompanied them up to our dorm afterwards, which is where I first met her when I came back from a meeting. I remember thinking she was just stunningly beautiful, and especially so after a sweaty bit of sport, and I definitely remember my 18 year old self stumbling over his words to convey that message. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind, and we spent many days getting to know each other over lunch 'dates' at Runk, hikes in the Blue Ridge, and playing in the snow on the Lawn. While at UVA, we made great friends together, partied together, learned about ourselves together, and learned in the classroom fastidiously apart (it was best for all involved that we not take any classes together). Our own ambitions would separate us upon graduation -- me to work in San Francisco, and Kate to medical school in Boston -- but after two years of too many transcontinental flights, we moved in together and shortly after agreed to marry each other on a beautiful winter day on the Lawn. The wedding is this May, back in C'ville of course, and our shared hope is to one day move our family back to Charlottesville!

1989 was the year it all happened: the Berlin Wall came down - needless to say not of Jeffersonian design - and a common German friend at UVA invited us to a unification party. It took us a while to come together, fortunately not as long as it took the two Germanys to do so. Thirty years, two PhDs, four children and countless transatlantic crossings later, we continue to go strong! Thank you, UVA, for so much inspiration. Since then, we've had the chance to see the original template for the Grounds' most famous building as well -- Andrea Palladio's 1552 Villa Rotonda in Vicenza, Italy.

As third year students in the College, Brad and I each decided to study abroad in Munich and Berlin for J-Term with Dean Stewart. Brad spoke basic German, but I didn’t speak a word. The first day of our class in Munich, I took a nap after flying in because I was jet lagged. When I woke up, I miscalculated the time difference and thought I was an hour late for our first meeting. I sprinted down to the lobby of the hotel to see if anyone was waiting for me. Brad was sitting with Mrs. Stewart and one other student. I apologized profusely, totally out of breath, for making everyone late. They looked at me very confused — I was an hour early for the meeting. Brad introduced himself and I thought “he’s cute!” For the rest of the trip, I joked that I needed to sit with him for every meal so that he could translate my meal order.

Brad proposed in 2016 in New York City, where I work as an attorney and Brad attends law school. We got married September 3, 2017 in Rye, New York. Even though we attended the same school, both majored in English and History and were both involved in Greek life, we needed to travel thousands of miles from Grounds to meet!

David and I met on move-in day of my 2nd (his 4th) year and we went on our first date a week later. With no plans, we decided to watch the sunset and found an unlocked access to the roof of Clark Hall. Unfortunately, the sky was blocked by trees, so we had the brilliant idea of driving up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a better view. Of course, by the time we got there, the sun had already set, so we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and, since we were having so much fun, decided to go for the sunrise instead. After a few hours of sleep, David picked me up and we grabbed some Hardee’s biscuits before heading up to Humpback Rock for the sunrise. Alas, it was a bit foggy when we got there, so while we waited, we fell asleep in the car and a police officer woke us up to tell us we weren’t allowed to camp there. When we explained our situation, he just laughed and left us alone. After thirty-two years of marriage--and sunrises and sunsets from around the world--we’re still having a blast!

We met at The Biltmore on December 3, 2011. Five years later we were married on December 3, 2016 at the UVA chapel. We are now expecting our first child due in August 2019! GO HOOS!

We met on Halloween 1986 in the basement of my fraternity house, Sigma Phi, as we manuvered for drinks at the bar. We started dating a year later and after several more years of dating at UVA, including numerous trips to Foxfield, we continued dating as started our careers in the DC area. We married in 1991. Now we are enjoying reliving our times in Charlottesville when we visit our son who is a current second year. If he needs advice, we stand at the ready!

Some of my husbands high school friends lived in Cauthen our first year, so he spent almost all of his time there. Lucky enough, I actually lived there! We started dating in April 2011 at the end of our first year; got engaged in 2015 and married June 2016.

We actually met at Wintergreen during a UVA ski class for the last credit Patrick needed to graduate (01). I was a year behind (02) and took the class with a couple sorority sisters and met Patrick that first day on the slopes. We ended up riding the lift together several times, he was charming and somehow convinced my friends to leave me without a ride home - which he then swooped in and saved the day by offering me a lift back to Charlottesville. We rode up to class together many times after that, skipped one class together to attend a basketball game in which we beat Duke - totally worth it. He then asked me to one of his date functions and I was smitten from there - the man can dance. After graduation we moved to different states but kept in touch - we trudged through a long distance relationship with all its trials and then finally reunited for good in 2004. We were married in 2009 and now have a little girl 3 1/2 and are teaching her to cheer "Go Virginia" during any and all UVA events. Wahoowa!

Our story is different from the others you’ve read. Dave was looking for a graduate program in IT. I saw something on McIntire’s MS MIT program and shared it with him. He applied. Then I applied. We were both accepted in the same cohort. Our house was always where our groups met to work on group projects — at times it felt like we spent more time with our groups than we did each other!

We survived the long hours of studying and group work. While our time on the Grounds were limited to brief residencies packed to the brim with classes,group meetings and socials, we wouldn’t trade them for the world. Now that we’ve graduated, we enjoy visiting and exploring the Grounds at our leisure.

Geoff and I met in O-Hill right at the start of our 1st years in 1995. We dated most of our time at UVA, from dates at the Newcomb Hall movie theater to dinners on the Downtown Mall. Eventually we found ourselves in a long-distance relationship while he was in CA and I in St. Louis. Eventually we were living in the same city and 10 years after meeting, in 2005 we married in Negril. We now have a 9-year old, Beverly, and as a family we cheer on the Hoos every football and basketball season! She even knows the Good Ol Song!

Linda was in the first class of UVA women (excluding nursing school). I was in the last class that was exclusively men. We met at a mutual friend's apartment where we dined together. We hit it off and after Thanksgiving break, sat up until all hours of the night just talking. I was in Engineering (later changed to University Major) and she was in A&S - Psychology. We both recognized that we were more likely to be good candidates for medical school. Eventually, after medical school, residency and fellowship, we were pediatricians (newborn intensive care and pediatric cardiology) and have been working ever since. Oh, yes, we were married after 4 years of courting and have been in love ever since. We give generously to UVA and have been back a number of times: Linda returned for the 40th anniversary of the women's admission and I have been back for the John Kenneth Crispell reunion. I have never had a sad day since graduating thanks to my best friend, my partner and the love of my life since UVA. WAHOOWA!

Raven and I met during Spanish class in high school but we didn't officially start dating until just before I graduated. I decided to go to UVA and we spent our first year apart because she was still in high school and debating about where to go afterward. She came to visit me quite a few times, but the first time was incredibly special. It was a typical gorgeous UVA fall day . We watched the Hoos win a tough football game and took pictures with Cavman. Afterwards we had a romantic dinner at Lemongrass and headed out for some UVA night life. I could see the sparkle in her eyes and that night I knew she was as much in love with UVA as I was. She committed to going to UVA and we spent the rest of our years exploring everything UVA and Charlottesville had to offer, even coaching soccer together through Madison House. UVA Grounds provided a place for our love to grow and we are now engaged and planning to tie the knot in Spring 2020.

We met the second day of Orientation in 1996, after all of the patents left campus. John came to my suite with two of his friends “looking” for his friend’s high school classmate who he had spotted earlier in the day. According to John, his friend said she “had grown up” over summer and he wanted to reconnect. I answered the door as his friend walked past me, clearly I wasn’t that girl. John always polite chatted with me and we exchanged numbers to study after realizing we were both E-School students. I also invited him to a small party I was throwing in my suite that night, he stood me up. We started officially dating less than a month later. He asked me to be his girlfriend at the bus stop in front of the Chemistry building after walking to turn in some assignment due that night. Of course I immediately said yes (don’t fact check this version). We supported each other through 4 years of E-School, job interviews, and Med School applications. John bought me my first stethoscope 4th year when I almost gave up on my dream. After almost 23 years, 5 cities, 3 States + 1 District, 4 Graduate Programs, and 3 kids, we are still going strong with the loving support of our families and UVA friends who have been on this journey with us.

Pallu and I met during our first year at UVA in 2009. We were in the same student organization, ISA, where we attended meetings and practiced dances for a cultural show. A friendship quickly formed. Over the next 2 years, we had multiple Thai 99 lunch dates, late night study sessions at Clemons, and movie nights. We soon realized that we found more than just a friendship between us. Over the next 7 years, we supported each other through grad school as I went on to study medicine and Pallu earned her masters degree. In October 2018, we returned back to UVA and visited the Rotunda as we often did over the years. This time around, however, I got down on one knee and proposed to Pallu who said yes! Who knew what started out as a friendship almost 10 years ago would develop into a wonderful lifelong partnership. <3

A fun little story for me, I reserved the UVA Chapel during the first week of September of my fourth year, for the weekend after my upcoming graduation in May. The kicker: Chuck had not yet proposed, and that didn’t happen until December!!! He didn’t find this out until several years after we were married that May. Going on 36 years now and still going strong!!! And second funny story was when we decided to follow (my) German tradition to wear our wedding bands on our left hands during our engagement, then switching to the right hand at the wedding ceremony. Our friends all totally thought we had eloped that weekend!

We met at the Wesley Foundation in the Fall of 1984. After some persistence, Kathy went out on a date with me the next spring to a Home Basketball game followed by a great western movie at Gilmer Hall. My last two years certainly improved on my first two. Kathy stayed with me even after my Dad's '72 MGB broke down on the way to the Foxfield races the next spring. We married after she graduated in May of 1988.

Four daughters, two sons-in-law and 30 years later we still follow the 'Hoos and enjoy recalling the great memories we shared at The University of Virginia. We are always thankful of the many blessings our Lord gave to us that started on Grounds.

Although we share a major and concentration in the E-School (Systems Engineering/Financial Economics), we became friends while sharing an Econ class in the summer of 1986. We started dating that fall, and I proposed to her at her graduation dinner at the Boar’s Head Inn. We were married a year later. The rest, as they say, is history. The attached picture was taken at our 25th Anniversary celebration.

We have three kids, one of whom, Simone, is a ‘15 graduate from the College.

Timothy and I met in 2002 in Tuttle Lounge during our first year as undergrads on Grounds. Throughout our four years, we had the same circle of friends, attended the same events, and had similar interests. As the relationships between our network of friends strengthened, it wasn't until the spring semester of our third year that he expressed interest. We started having late night chats over Instant Messenger (RIP AIM) and he started paying more attention to me during our late night study sessions at the library (Clark). Fast forward to the fall of 2005, our fourth year in college. Timothy and I had always attended the same small group session on Friday nights. He played the drums for the praise and worship team. ;) I noticed myself paying more attention to him, but at the same time thinking" Knetta, this is Tim your friend, why are giving him this much attention?!" We would go eat after small group at Mel's Café and I remember him saving a seat for me (so thoughtful!) It was during that time where I really started to like him and looked at him more than just "the friend who plays the drums." A few nights before our college graduation, our friends had a HUGE sleepover to celebrate the occasion. It was that night we shared our first kiss and from that moment, I never looked at him the same!-blushes-
Fast forward to the summer of 2006. I went to South Africa for the summer to do missions work and he moved to Roanoke Va. for his new job. When I returned from South Africa we attended a wedding together of some good friends we met while at UVA. Shortly after, he asked me to be his girlfriend and we are still growing and becoming the best of friends. Through moves for new jobs, both completing graduate school, and 7 years of long distance we have enjoyed every moment of life together, and it helps that we really like each other :) We married on April 9, 2017 in Charlottesville. We exchanged vows in front of our family and closest friends at The Chapel, and had an amazing reception at Alumni Hall. We planned our wedding during Black Alumni Weekend, and it was hands down the best weekend of our lives! UVA is such a special place for us and we never miss an opportunity to travel back to Grounds and reminisce on our amazing days at UVA as lovers and friends! ;)

My husband and I met in 1987 when I was a first year and my husband was a fourth year! We were married in 1995, but like to also celebrate the anniversary of when we met… which will be 31 years this March!

We graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce in 2009. We had a ton of mutual friends, but our paths didn't cross until we left grounds. We met at the wedding of two Wahoos, one of Christina's best friends (and Matron of honor) and one of Eric's good friends in November 2011. Sparks didn't fly until a month later at a Wacky Tacky Christmas party thrown jointly by fellow Hoos, one of Christina's best friends (and maid of honor) and Eric's roommate (groomsmen). We bonded over our love of UVA, bourbon and sports. We were engaged during our 5th year reunion in Christina's old lawn room, 47 West, and we were married at the UVA chapel in August 2015. We remain involved as alumni, and we visit as often as we can. Wahoowa!

Brad and I met in chemistry lab our first year. We didn't find out that we really did have chemistry until a few months later, though!
Brad and I dated for most of college, after which we continued our relationship long distance while I lived in Charlottesville and he went to culinary school in London. Once he came back to the states, we got engaged, got married at King Family Vineyards, and settled into Charlottesville-townie living. We welcomed our first daughter in 2014 and moved out to Crozet (right down the street from our wedding venue) before welcoming our second daughter in 2016. We're excited to introduce a little boy to the mix in 2018 and continuing our tradition of reading "Goodnight Cavaliers" at bedtime and teaching them the words to the Good Ol' Song. Wahoowa!

Kevin and I met the summer after I graduated Darden. I was in Tanzania, Africa with my roommate (Susie Platt Greene D’97) and her now husband (Andy Greene D’97). We were relaxing after the first day of hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, when we were approached by two climbers who signed into the register book after us - and were eagerly looking to see who was from Charlottesville, Virginia! Robb Fish (Col ’92) and Kevin were on the same itinerary as we were, and we quickly connected and spent the next few days hiking together. That was 20+ years ago. We’ve been happily married for 16 years, have a 12-year old son, Justin, still love the adventure of a good hike, and all feverishly cheer for Virginia - particularly basketball and lacrosse.

Aileen and I met at the beginning of her first year at Darden (my second year). We were brought together by fate in 3 ways -- (1) we were both Section A (which totally rocks!); (2) we were both Boston College undergrads, 1 year off, and had never met before; and (3) Aileen's assigned Darden "Big Sister" when she came to C'Ville was my best friend (Elaine Egede-Nissen D'97). So in the days before Facebook, I actually learned of the BC connection, and asked her to go watch a BC football game, which is technically our first date (whether either of us knew it at the time). To note, if Aileen had gone to Boston University, I am not writing this note now. Fast forward, we were married in Boston in 1999, coming on 20 years of marriage, and have 2 wonderful children (Jack 16, and Katie 14), both looking forward to join the respective soccer teams at UVA in '20 and '22!

Matt

Married on June 11, 1958. Friends of ours, who were dating arranged our first date. The real reason for arranging the date was that Bob had a car. We both graduated in 1959. Bob's twenty years of military service allowed us to travel widely in the US and overseas. In the next chapter of our life Bob worked in secondary education as a high school principal. Inez worked in home health and returned to UVA to earn a BSN and MSN. In the 1995, we built as home in Wintergreen Va end move there permanently in 2001. We attend many UVA sporting, educational, and social events well as class and TJ Society reunions. WE ARE HOOS FOR LIFE.

Ryan and I knew each other from high school but found love on Grounds. While friends, we lost touch the summer before school and when I discovered his dorm was just up the hill from mine, my mom joked wherever I went, he would follow me. Second year, unbeknownst to us, his dorm was right across the street from my off campus housing. We often found ourselves walking to class together. One day we happened to be at the same party of an old high school friend of his, when a friend who knew us both set us up. At separate times during the night this "friend" took us aside and convinced us we were secretly harboring feelings for each other. At the end of the night Ryan walked me home, convinced we more than friends. Two years after graduation he proposed on the Lawn the night before New Year's Eve. Several adventures and two kids later, I still can't lose him.

Kathleen and I met during second year after going out on a blind date. We dated throughout the rest of our time at UVa, frequenting many great Hoo's sporting events and other fun Charlottesville activities. We were recently engaged in Colorado and hope to get married in the chapel (fingers crossed) next spring. Go Hoo's!

A Tale of Three UVA Couples
I lived in Wahoo West apartments my second year, along with two of my first year Dunnington suitemates. Matt was one of our next door neighbors at Wahoo West, and we all became friends. He and I stayed great friends and then began dating after our third year. In the meantime, my two suitemates had started dating two of his fraternity brothers. All three couples ended up marrying after graduation: Tom Mangas (Col '90) & Allison (Cutright) Mangas (Col '89) in 1990; Scott Palmer (Com '90) & Nathalie Palmer (Col '89) in 1991, and Matt & me in the UVA chapel in 1992.
We were all at each others' weddings, have stayed connected and gotten together with our kids over the years. And each couple's oldest daughter has attended UVA...which has just given us more excuses for reunion tailgates on Grounds!
I know we each feel individually lucky to have found the person who makes us happy in life, and we also enjoy the great coincidence that this happened between three suitemates and three fraternity brothers while we were at UVA.
Wahoowa!

Jim and I met in Intermediate Accounting Class! Because the Comm school promoted a lot of group work, we had the chance to work on a number of group projects during our two years at McIntire. We also started running together when our class schedules allowed and have run a number of full marathons, half marathons and ten milers. I started working at KPMG in Richmond after graduating in 1988. Jim stayed another year to complete his Masters in Tax and joined the same firm in 1989. A true tax man, he proposed on April 15th in 1993 and we got married later that year. It doesn't get any more romantic than that! We will be returning to UVA this summer for our 30th class reunion!

We met in law school, when I was in my first year and Bill was in his third. We played a lot of softball in law school (aka "Withers High"), carrying our gloves to class, so we could dash out to games during free periods. There were three or four leagues and most of us played in at least two. I was apparently the object of fascination for one of the guys on Bill's "macho league" team.

One night at a party on Barracks Road, this teammate Brian made his move. He cornered me by the keg to talk torts and such (actually, he led off with stories of inseminating cows). Bill happened to wander by and, knowing his pickup moves weren't going too well, Brian grabbed Bill and introduced him as "the funniest guy on the softball team." I latched on for dear life!

A few weeks later, Bill and I went out during "Feb Club" (a month-long party, culminating in Barrister's Ball). By the end of our first date (which lasted 4 days and involved almost every restaurant on the Corner), we knew we wanted get married. This was a problem, since I already had a Barrister's Ball date. I had to explain to my date, Mike, that I couldn't go to the dance with him because I had just met my future husband and it would feel like cheating. Mike wasn't too happy, but managed to find another date - who he subsequently fell in love with and married!

Back then, the law school was a small place. Everyone dated everyone else. It was just a matter of shuffling the deck until you ended up with the person you married. Falling in love while learning to think was a deadly combo. At least a dozen couples we knew met that way.

We met when one of my suite-mates introduced us through his sister, who was entering Nursing school in the same class as Nancy.

John and I were Class of 1996 classmates at Darden and got engaged right in front of the Rotunda in April, 1996. I was a bit distracted from his proposal due to the streakers on the Lawn!

Eric and I were set up for a Lawn Stranger Dance in October of 1988, which meant we were supposed to be blind dates. Funny thing is we had already had lunch in Newcomb the first day of school first year. Even though we already knew each other a little bit, we still went to the dance and had a blast! We were married on the terrace of Alumni Hall in June 1992, and now are so proud that our eldest daughter, Hannah, is a Wahoo, too!

My second year, we both attended a retreat at the Boars’ Head Inn. Marie approached our mutual friend as I stood with them, and later told me it was only so that she could meet me. A year later, she invited me to Restoration Ball, and we’ve been together ever since!

Matt and I met through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at UVA. Our first official date was right around Valentine's Day, 1993. We had dinner at the Ivy Inn and then went to the Jazz Fest in Old Cabell Hall. Matt proposed to me nine months later with a Blue Ridge backdrop outside the elementary school where I was student teaching. My bridal shower was in Professor Elzinga's pavilion on the lawn - he is so generous! We loved everything about UVA, and we have both continued to thrive in the fields that we degreed in. This summer we will return for our 25th reunion and will celebrate 24 years of wahoo marriage. We just sent our firstborn to UVA this year and she is loving it! Go Wahoos!

Michelle and I met while in Graduate School in Cell Biology at the Medical School. We connected right away in study group. Graduate school was an intense experience and we helped each other get through all the ups and downs. Our first date where I knew this was special was at Tokyo Rose. I just remember being awed by her over sushi while Bob Marley's "Is This Love" played over the restaurant speakers. Yes it was! We were married at the UVA Chapel in December of 1995.

Evan and I met on the first day of classes my second year. We had a 9 AM history discussion on Friday mornings. I was late to class, and when I burst into the tiny room, the class had already begun. Of course, there was nowhere to sit other than right beside the teacher in the very front of the room. After class, Evan came up to me and made a comment about my tardiness that insinuated I had stayed up too late partying on the night before. Being my sassy self, I promptly informed him that I had an 8 AM Spanish class all the way across campus right before and had, in fact, not stayed up late the previous evening. Needless to say, his response was "Oh." After that we began sitting together in class, walking home together, and soon enough we were dating. We have been together ever since, and will be getting married in June 2018! I am so thankful for UVA for introducing me to the love of my life!

Paul and I both attended UVA undergrad but did not meet until medical school. Paul was giving a lecture on cancer day, and I thought he was just so cute!! I told a friend of his that he should invite me to the Medical School formal, and the rest was history. We were married in the UVA Chapel, reception at UVA Alumni Hall after a horse and buggy ride through Grounds. The wedding was Foxfield weekend. This April, we will have been married 28 years. <3

I met my wife, Elenor, at a "stranger dance." I don't think they do those any more. Each first-year dorm would have one--her dorm was Bonnycastle. In a stranger dance, everyone would come with a blind date. Your roommate or other friend would either set you up with a total stranger, or with someone you had seen but not met or just didn't have the guts to ask out yourself. Elenor and I were complete strangers until that night. We've been married 24 years and have two kids. To this day, whenever I tell the stranger dance story, Elenor says, "Yep, he was certainly strange."

Joel and I met the first day of class during the first semester our first year in French class. Madameselle Mutterspaugh was our teacher and put up with our enfatuation with each other. I played on the tennis team for UVA and Joel was on the soccer team. Joel pledged at Sigma Pi fraternity and I pledged at Pi Beta Phi. Whenever we had free time, we were inseparable. So we grew up together on the school grounds, attending football games and basketball games with the Wahoo spirit. We were married a month after we graduated in 1983. This summer on June 26th we will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, two days after one of our sons is getting married at Lake Tahoe, CA.

Susan and I met in her first year dorm suite in Dobie in 1977. I had met two other suitemates of hers, and that brought me back visiting where Susan caught my attention. Visits through that first year to the suite were especially confusing to me because Susan looked very much like her roommate, both similar size and with straight long black hair, so I was never sure who I was saying hi to. Second year cured that by finding Susan and I in the same Biology class taught by Fred Diehl, now our long-time friend. We soon needed lab partners, and I could tell from just a few classes that Susan knew a lot more biology than I did. My smart decision was asking her to be my lab partner; fortunately for me and perhaps unwisely for her, she agreed. Lab partner soon turned to a date, the $1 Friday movie night Gilmer Hall special (home of the Biology Dept no less). One date turned to two, then more, and so on. At UVA we shared the mundane as well as the dating and fun. We studied, cooked, played 2-person IM basketball, and even did laundry together. We became engaged in our fourth year; marriage followed a year and a half later after my first year of law school and her first year of work as an RN. That was almost 36 years ago, and we are proud and blessed to have our UVA heritage, each other, three wonderful children (one also a Hoo), and just days ago our first grandchild.

Though we had some mutual friends and determined that we had both been at certain locations and events around Grounds at the same time, we didn’t actually meet until a Seals and Butler event at El Greco’s on January 27th, 1990.
We went to St. Marten’s for our first date 2 nights later and within 2 months were talking casually about an eventual marriage. In Scott Stadium as the goalpost floated by us on the field after beating Clemson for the first time in 27 years I got down on one knee and proposed. The answer was yes, though the official proposal wasn’t until a little later. The ring was bought at Keller and George in the Downtown Mall and we celebrated the engagement on the steps of the Rotunda that night.
Now a 22 year old son and 18 year old daughter later we are still inseparable and still following many of the Hoos sports teams on TV and in person when we can.

Although we had known each other since middle school, even attending Days on the Lawn together, Richard and I had lost touch until our fourth year at UVA, where we reconnected and started dating. We spent the remainder of our college days cheering on the Hoos at JPJ, hiking Humpback Rocks, and reveling in the Thursday night Corner scene. On December 21, 2017, we returned to Grounds and spent the day enjoying some of Charlottesville's best: Crozet Pizza, Starr Hill Brewery, C&O Restaurant, and, of course, The Virginian. That night, exactly five years from when our relationship began, Richard brought me to see the lights on the Lawn, before proposing on the Rotunda steps. The wedding is planned for 2019.

Nick and I were set up on a double date by (and with) one of my flatmates and her beau to attend a Culbreth production. Great show, if a bit depressing. On our next date we saw the film Platoon...I'll let that sink in. Here we are, nearly 29 years later, and looking forward to at least another few decades. Marital advice: Don't be shy—get the tough stuff out of the way up front!

Chip and I met in the basement of his fraternity DKE in the fall of 1985. I was second year and Chip was third year. The band Indecision was playing for a rush party and it was super crowded. Chip asked if I wanted a beer and the rest is history! We married in 1991. We have both football and basketball tickets so we are often traveling down 29S to Charlottesvillefor a game from our home in DC. UVA is a very special place to us. Wahoowa-Go Hoos!

Cindy and I met at The University when I called her roommate, desperate for a typewriter which I inadvertently left at my parents’ house. Cindy answered the call and agreed to lend me her typewriter … and then typewriter paper an hour later … then an ink cartridge about an hour later … and then an eraser cartridge shortly thereafter (wow, am I dating myself). Finally, around 8 pm that evening, I called her again and she answered “so now what do you want” … and I told her “nothing other than to share a bottle of wine because the paper wasn’t happening” … a true Hoo must have his priorities as she was d&*n cute! 6 hours of talking later (and yes, I did get a goodnight kiss) … and the rest is history. 35+ years and 3 kids later, one of whom went to The U both undergrad as well as for medical school, and here we are … the family picture is atop a local winery. We just moved from Ohio after 23 years to Tampa Florida and are now officially pirates – the pics are from the annual Gasparilla invasion – look it up!

Hilary and I met as medical students at UVA at an outdoor pool party. She had promised her classmate that she would go the party but when her friend arrived late she was in scrubs covered head to toe with Chlorox bleach and Windex after vigorously cleaning the bathroom in her apartment. As they were already late, Hilary's friend said you don't have time for a shower or to dress up but it is a pool party so everyone else will be casually dressed and smell like chlorine too so it wont matter. Meanwhile, I was at the party waiting for my (soon to be ex-) girlfriend who had not arrived and trying to help my guy friend visiting from Germany to find a suitable dance partner for the evening. Hilary then arrived surrounded by an oddly arousing bouquet of freshly washed laundry combined with new car smell. I tried my best to get my German friend to show her what an exciting and interesting fellow he was but he just clammed up. I spent the rest of the evening trying to make it up to Hilary and ended up (in)advertently accelerating my impending break up with my former girlfriend in the process. After the party she left her beach towel by accident (she claims) in my car and I spent the next few days trying to find my Cinderella and eventually dropped off the towel at her place. Weeks later, we had a keg party at our apartment and Hilary and her friend again made an appearance. Unfortunately, I hardly recognized the girl from the pool party who was now totally dressed to the nines. When I eventually realized it was the same woman, sparks flew, and four cities, two ophthalmology residencies, three academic institutions, one fellowship year apart, one sailboat, two daughters, three cats, and 14 fish later we remain together on our grand pirate adventure. But it all started at UVA.

Sanford and I met on the dance floor at a fraternity party. He saw my goofy dancing from across the room and just knew I was the one. We haven't looked back since. In fact, we just got engaged (on the Lawn, of course)!

Andrew and I met at orientation during the summer of 2002! As an out-of-state student from NY, I walked into orientation knowing no one, eager to make friends. After a quick jog on a treadmill in the AFC, I caught up with a couple of people I recognized from an A-School breakout session earlier in the day. Andrew walked up to say hi to a friend from home and somehow we got to talking. We sought each other out several times over the course of that weekend, including a late night walk around Grounds. In the weeks that followed prior to the semester starting we caught up on the phone, AOL instant messenger, and even exchanged a few mixed CDs.

Once school started we remained friends over the years and reconnected 4th year (see the wonderful picture from graduation weekend?), but didn't actually start dating until after we graduated in 2006 when we both moved to the DC Metro area. We got engaged September 6, 2008 at the steps of the Rotunda following the UVA-Richmond football game, just a little over 6 years after we first met and roamed around Grounds. We were married at the Chapel on June 14, 2009 - our wedding party full of fellow Wahoos!

Our fall weekends and holidays since have been spent at football games and exploring Charlottesville with our families, including our two little girls - London (4) and Harper (2) - who have been taught to cheer for the Hoos and sing the Good Ol' Song from a young age!

We met while steam tunneling under UVA from the Lawn to Scott Stadium!

Do you remember having your friends over before venturing out for a classic UVA Friday night? Well on this particular night, Alysa came over to our apartment with a mutual friend. I was immediately drawn to her. She was stunning and I just had to talk to her! We discovered that we were both from Richmond, VA but had never crossed paths in our hometown. Anyway, we all went out that night and had a great time. Months went by and Alysa and I didn't speak. Then, one fateful day during the summer before Alysa's second year and my third year, I mustered up the courage to reach out to her via social media. After that we talked non-stop, started dating, and made our relationship official in December of 2014 (just after she got out of an Accounting final exam).

Alysa and I were inseparable! We walked to and from class together, signed up for the same lectures, took walks on The Lawn, partied on The Corner, ate way too much Mel's, traveled to Pippin Hill, and made wonderful memories everywhere we went. I am so grateful to UVA for providing a beautiful place where we could let our love grow. Today Alysa and I have a home together in Atlanta, GA where she has launched her career with IBM and I enjoy working in Advertising at The Home Depot corporate headquarters. We are looking forward to a bright future together and will always be a Cavalier Couple! #HooLove #WahooCouplesAreTheBestCouples

I entered the college in 1970, one of the first class of women admitted to the college. As with most, I found the whole experience overwhelming! My first days were spent just making sure I could find my way around, fill my class schedule, buy books (back in the day) and settle in with my suite mates in Maupin. The school was kind enough to arrange outdoor movies outside the Glass Hat, between the dorms. I met Bob at one of the movies but couldn't remember anything about him except that he worked at the radio station, WUVA and he had invited me to come to one of his shows. Bravely, for me, I sucked it up and went to the station early one evening. Since I couldn't remember his name, the guys at the station were unable to help me BUT they were good enough to give me the nickle tour anyway.
A few days later, Bob showed up at Maupin (unlike me, he had at least remembered where I lived!). We were married in The Chapel 2 years later, 6.3.1972. He'd continued to work at WUVA while completing his college degree (he graduated class of '72; graduation was the day after our wedding - another story). After 2 years in the college, I went into the school of nursing and graduated class of '74. We lived in married student housing our first year before getting an apartment on Cabell Avenue. This June, we'll celebrate 46 years of marriage. We now live in Durham, NC where we proudly display the UVA flag in our front yard and sing the Good Ol' song while wearing our UVA shirts!

Kath and I met in 1976 and were married in The Chapel.
Originally our wedding time and date was at 12:34 pm on May 6th.
Why?
The digital time and date was 12:34 5/6/78 which will never be repeated again!

Alas, we had to move it back a month to accommodate some family members.

Also, Queen Elizabeth II spoke at the Commencement since it was America's
bi-centennial.

We first unofficially met during a VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) event at Dell Fields. She still doesn't believe me when I tell her, but at the time, I thought she was remarkably beautiful and I inched my way close to her when we were going around making introductions, and you can see me right next to her in a group photo. With VSA's family system, she was technically my "Little", and not that much happened between us during her first semester other than friendly bonding. Unbeknownst to me, she started to like me at the beginning of the spring semester and began dropping hints like bread crumbs and I was completely oblivious to what was happening. I just thought all of our playful jests and time together was just having really good friendship... She asked me to Colonnade Ball "as a friend", and I happily agreed because I thought it would be fun! Over the course of the next few weeks, I steadily started to realize that maybe.. just MAYBE, there might have been something emerging between us. I consulted my friends about how much we were talking and spending time with each other and the fun we were having, and they agreed that something might have been happening and I was starting to like her. In February 2013, I got a "UVA Confessions" post directed at me: "Thuan Tran, Will you be my Valentine?"
I asked her if she had written it, and she was adamant that she hadn't, even though there was yet another UVA confession that she had written towards me a mere few weeks before this one came out. (You would think that I would realize what was going on by now).
Finally, the night of Colonnade Ball came around, and I was a nervous wreck because I realized how much I liked this girl. Keep in mind, I was still oblivious to how she felt towards me. Circumstances arose where we ended up having dinner together alone at C&O Restaurant, and we went to Colonnade Ball at Jefferson Theater and danced the night away. Finally, we came back to my apartment and watched an episode of Doctor Who. After a couple hours of talking, she revealed that she was the one who wrote the Valentine's Day post.
We discussed the whirlwind of events and emotions in the past month and a half that led up to that moment and went away the next morning as a couple.
Five years later, we are about to spend our anniversary in Disney World and we could not be happier.

Lisa and I did not technically meet on Grounds, while at school. We actually met at an alumni party at the Tabernacle in Atlanta in 1998, after the Peach Bowl. We had both attended the game separately, and just before midnight, her friend approached me and asked if I would kiss Lisa for New Years. I said yes....imagine that! We ended up dating for a year and a half, and were married at the University Chapel in September of 2000.

Keith and I met through the Cave Club. On my first vertical cave trip, he ended up rescuing my then-boyfriend Jim who had managed to end up hanging upside down on the rope by his left knee. That summer I stayed in Charlottesville and put a notice on the Cave Club bulletin board that if anyone wanted to go caving to call me. Keith was working as a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park that summer, but came through Charlottesville fairly often, saw my note, and looked me up. We were engaged by October, and married two years later - the same day he graduated from UVA. He worked in Charlottesville and took additional classes prior to his admission to medical school while I finished up my degree, and we're still together 44 years after that first caving trip.

David and I met the weekend of Mid-Summers, July 2002. A few of David’s fraternity brothers had set up a kiddie pool and slip-and-slid in the Mad Bowl. I was in the kiddie pool. David walked up carrying a case of beer.

We dated our entire time on campus, but broke up 4.5 years later after I finished my Masters. We reconnected 10 years later in Northern Virginia. Our wedding is this April in Charlottesville.

Ben and I met the second week of school our first year in his hallmate's dorm room. We dated throughout our time at school. Six years later, this past August, Ben proposed to me in one of the lawn gardens. We are so excited to get married in Charlottesville this coming October!

My wife and I met in February 2005 on the weekend of boy's bid night. We had an instant connection and shared many common interests. We have been together ever since that fateful weekend. After my graduation, I moved to Pittsburgh for law school and Brittany remained at the University. After her graduation, she received an employment offer at JPMorgan and moved to New York City. I followed her to New York after I graduated from law school, and we have been in New York ever since. On April 24, 2010, I proposed on the lawn. The picture was taken by my college roommate and former Cavalier Daily photographer, Danny Neckel. We visit Charlottesville every chance we get as it is, and forever will be, a special place for us.

Chris and I met my first year. He was in my brother's fraternity. I had my own rule not to ever date a fraternity brother of my brothers. We were always friendly throughout our college careers but "re-met" after I graduated. He proposed on the Lawn as well and we bleed Orange and Blue!

I first saw David in the Observational Hill dining room, sitting with his first year hall mates. I was sitting there with a friend at one end of the table, and I noticed David was talking and making jokes a few seats away from me. At one point, the entire table was laughing at these jokes. I remember thinking I thought he was funny, too. As he got up to grab seconds of his meal, I thought to myself, "we're probably gonna date one day." It was a strange, fleeting thought, but definitely something I remembered thinking at the time.

The next year, our second year at UVA, we would meet officially at a party. It was nothing more than a "hi" and "good to meet you" and we went our separate ways. For the next two years, I would see David around Grounds between classes, on the way to the dining hall, and in the library in passing, and I thought it was strange that I saw this guy everywhere. He would always wave and say hi to me, but never stop for a conversation, so I was annoyed with him.

Fast forward to fourth year, one of my best friends was having a Thanksgiving-themed party and David just happened to be invited to this particular party. This was odd because he wasn't a common guest at my friends' parties. It just so happened that we began talking and later that night, David would sent an eager and excited follow up Facebook message saying how good it was to talk with me that night. I thought that was weird, but I also found that I liked the conversation we had, so I continued messaging him. The Facebook messages turned into Gchats, which turned into texting and phone calls, and the rest is history!

It was my fourth year at UVA and I'd just returned from a semester abroad in South Africa. I was back into all of my UVA activities and planning on finishing this last year strong. Sam, meanwhile, was planning how to go about a research assignment for his new Music Ethnography class, for which he had to study a music scene in the Charlottesville community. I didn't know Sam at this point, but he knew a few of the girls in my acappella group and selected this all-female group as his research topic. I found out later it was only meant to be a short study involving a few observations and interviews. At the time, what I knew was that this 3rd year music/computer science major had the most intense and involved research assignment and best work ethic of any I'd come across - he was dedicated to the research, attending every rehearsal, gig, concert and social function. Needless to say, I offered support with this massive task as needed, interviewing, sitting near him, walking with him to social functions, and eventually agreeing to date him after our end of semester concert. A year later, as he finished his penultimate semester and I prepared to move to Austria for work, he proposed. I flew back for the wedding in Virginia a week after his graduation and he flew back to Austria with me three days later. He continued his music research in Austria with a masters program and we've since moved to Surrey, England for his music research at the PhD level. We are where we are today because of that original research assignment at UVA, and the lengths Sam went to get an A.

Katie and I were law school classmates in 1990, and I had a sizable crush on her but was too shy to introduce myself. I finally decided to do so at a law school dance. Unfortunately, my timing was a little off, as I decided to take the plunge while she was dancing with someone else. My courage was also off: I walked determinedly across the dance floor but at the last minute lost my nerve. Instead of introducing myself to Katie, I introduced myself to her dance partner and told him, shouting over the music to be heard, that I admired his contributions to our class discussions in Civil Procedure. He thanked me as I quickly exited the scene.

Luckily, Katie intuited that I was really trying to introduce myself to her. Three weeks later, we bumped into each other on a stairway in the Law School, and as I blushed sixteen shades of purple, she took mercy on me and asked me if I'd like to go out for a drink. 28 years, four kids, two dogs, a cat, and several chickens later, I count my blessings every single morning I wake up next to the person I silently fell in love with on the dance floor.

Our UVA couple story didn't happen the way many do--we didn't meet on Grounds, and when we did meet we didn't fall in love at first sight. But 25 years later our UVA bond remains a big part of our family life.

Jon and I graduated the same year, had been at the same parties, and had several friends in common, but we never met as UVA undergrads. The fall after graduation we were both working in Atlanta, where we met through mutual friends. We were dating other people (in fact, Jon dated both of my roommates!) but once he left town for graduate school our long distance conversations and support through the end of other relationships brought us closer.

It wasn't an official love story until we crossed paths in Virginia as I was leaving for a trip with fellow Hoos in Europe and he was en route to meet friends in Alaska. In what remains one of the most romantic gestures he's made, he switched his flight to meet me in Germany, forgoing the Alaska wild for a chance to start our relationship in a land where neither of us knew the language.

Although we have different UVA undergrad memories from our single days, we've made many more joint memories as alumni. Games, tours, and reunions are a blast as we mingle with the lifelong friends we made at Virginia. Our daughter is now a 3rd year Comm School student, and sharing in her love of UVA deepens ours and makes us, more than ever, a grateful cavalier couple.

We met at a Trigon Engineering Society rush party in 2004 at the bowling alley. We both ended up as Trigon brothers, which kept us close while we were in school. It took us several years to start dating, but we got there (everyone was cheering for us) and were married in May 2016 at Delfosse Vineyards and Winery! Now we're enjoying Charlottesville living. If you're looking for us, we're probably at the game :) Go Hoos!

I met my best friend and soul mate on move in day of our first year in 1979. I first spotted her from a distance walking across the quad between Kent and La Fever. I knew that I had to meet her and to make a good first impression. She happened to be with someone that I already knew so that made the introductions painless. That was the start of what was to come later in life. We married in 1986. We recently celebrated 30 wonderful years together. We raised a wonderfully beautiful daughter who happens to be a Wahoo in her first year. We are still involved with the UVA family and we try to make every Black Alumni Weekend. As best friends still, we are thankful for the wonderful UVA experiences afforded us.

The first time I ever talked to Steven was after a large group meeting for Cru (then called Agape), which is one of the Christian fellowship groups on Grounds. I had just participated in St. Baldrick's so I had about a centimeter's worth of hair, and at the time, so did Steven. I walked up to him--even though I had never met before--and announced, "We have the same haircut!" I don't think we said anything else to each other that night, but apparently my awkward exclamation wasn't a strong deterrent.

That summer, both Steven and I stayed in Charlottesville: I was working and he was taking classes as a recent nursing school transfer. One night, Steven invited himself over to hang out, and we ended up talking until 3 am. It wasn't long before we started dating, and we got married in June 2014. We didn't end up getting married in Charlottesville, but our wedding colors were blue and orange, a fitting tribute to the school we both love.

Warren and I met in the chapel at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting in 1992. He still claims that it was love at first sight. We will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this June. 3 kids later, we are still best friends and loved every minute of our time at U.Va.!

Jim and I met on a blind date arranged by our respective roommates in February, 1972. That fateful night we attended a mixer that was held in the Rotunda and our first kiss was in front of a statue of Thomas Jefferson. I was working on my masters in Speech Pathology and Jim was a first year law student. We married in December that same year. The University Chapel was unavailable due to renovations so we were married at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, close to Grounds. After earning my degree, I worked for Amherst County public schools as their first speech therapist while Jim finished up law school. After Jim's graduation, we left Virginia for Delaware. Fast forward forty-three years, we are now happily retired in southern Delaware and are proud parents of three wonderful children and grandparents to five terrific kids. We love to vacation in the Blue Ridge and have visited the University several times in recent years. It is still a magical place for us!

Jason and I met on Grounds around 2000. We were just friends through our time at U.Va. but started dating in 2006. One of our many mutual friends helped make the love connection and we never looked back. After years of long distance due to job opportunities and me pursuing my MBA at Cornell, Jason proposed in 2010. We planned our wedding while I was pursuing my MBA but we had no doubt in our minds about where we would get married - on Grounds at the Chapel. On 9/15/12, that dream came true and we exchanged vows at the Chapel and had an amazing reception at Veritas Winery. We haven't missed a BAW despite now living in California and had the pleasure to bring our now 2 year old daughter with us last year. We LOVE U.Va. so much and know that this school is one of the reasons we are together now!

Ted and I met the very first day of classes during our first year, when he sat behind me in German class in a sweltering pre-airconditioned Cabell Hall room. We lived in the same dorm our second year, in houses across from each other in Brown College/Monroe Hill our third year, and then our fourth year were part of the same extended group of friends. We didn't see each other for 21 years after graduation, but Ted got three more degrees from U.Va. We ran into each other in California in 2010, and were married in 2013 almost 28 years after we first met.