We're getting married!

Rachel and Bailey matched on the dating app Bumble in May 2020. Bailey lived in San Marcos at the time and Rachel had just moved back to Austin after spending quarantine in McKinney with her family. There were still major restrictions in place for public spaces in Austin, so for their first date Bailey came to Rachel's apartment and cooked dinner (spicy sausage and pasta with marinara sauce, yum!). Rachel's POV: I was really nervous for our first date (as anyone is), but Bailey instantly made me feel comfortable and at ease. One thing I immediately noticed and appreciated was her ability to make me laugh. We easily joked back and forth and laughed all night long. One of my favorite traits of Bailey's is that she is genuinely such a people person. She can walk into a room full of people she has never met and easily get along with every single person. She falls into conversation so naturally and she is genuinely curious about other people and their lives. I remember that she made me feel like she actually cared about my career and life goals. I had just finished my undergraduate honors thesis at the time and she listened to me explain my thesis and my passion for Indigenous rights and how it was the driving force behind my decision to attend law school. I love her compassion and empathy for people, even those she has just met. Bailey's POV: Putting yourself out there on dating apps can be scary and intimidating. All of those scary feelings were washed away and were replaced with happiness and excitement when I met Rachel for our first date. I have always enjoyed cooking, so I knew it was going to be the perfect first date! Rachel and I connected immediately and once the laughs started, they never stopped. Our conversations came naturally and we talked for hours. Many more dinner dates at Rachel's apartment followed and our love for each other grew quicker than either of us could imagine.

Rachel and Bailey moved from TX to AZ after 10 months of dating each other. During the beginning of their relationship, Rachel was studying for and then taking the LSAT. She was also filling out law school applications and VERY stressed out. Bailey was extremely supportive throughout the entire process. During the infamous Texas Freeze of February 2021, Rachel and Bailey were frozen in together in Rachel's apartment in Austin for a week straight! Four days into the freeze, Rachel found out she had been admitted to law school at ASU. A few months later, they sold everything they had, loaded up Rachel's Subaru and Bailey's truck with their remaining belongings, their cat and dog, and moved from Austin, TX to Phoenix, AZ. Rachel's POV: Looking back on it, it does seem kinda crazy that we just sold everything we had and moved our lives to Phoenix after a year of dating each other. However, I was upfront with her from the beginning that law school was my dream and that I would likely be leaving Austin within a year. She was extremely supportive of my goals and passions and she was willing to support me and uproot her life for me during this huge change and transition in my life. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without her. To be honest, I don't know if I would have made it through law school without her support! I often joke that if we could make it through 1L together, we can essentially make it through anything together. Bailey's POV: I had just recently been promoted to from First Assistant Manager at Zumiez in San Marcos, to Store Manager at Zumiez in Lakeline Mall, minutes from Rachel's apartment in Austin. I had only been at my store for not even a week when Rachel got the news of her acceptance to ASU Law. I was thrilled for her offer. She worked so hard on her application! When she asked me if I wanted to move with her, the answer was obviously, "Yes! I want to go on this journey with you!" I was able to apply and interview for a Store Manager position at a Zumiez in Gilbert, a city east of Phoenix, and I got the position! A few short months later, we sold everything we owned, my parents helped us load up our cars, and just like that we began our two-day trip to AZ.

Rachel graduated from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU) and the Indian Legal Program in May 2024. She will sit for the July 2024 AZ bar exam. She has accepted an associate attorney position with the law firm Zwillinger Wulkan in downtown Phoenix, where she will assist with the firm's Indian law practice. While in school she was actively involved in several student organizations on campus. She served as the President for the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, she was a singer in the Law Cappella group (a law student acapella group), she was an associate editor on the Law Journal for Social Justice, and she was a general member of several other orgs on campus. When she is not studying or participating in org events, she loves to play video games with Bailey (Call of Duty Zombies is really amazing for blowing off steam and school stress!!), practice her crochet skills, explore restaurants, bars, cultural spaces, and local events, and she even participates in her local dive bar karaoke nights (Dreams by Fleetwood Mac is her go to song). Bailey completely switched career gears, and in February 2022, Bailey attended EMT school. A few month later she became nationally and state certified, and began working on an ambulance full-time not long after. Bailey decided she wanted to continue with her path in healthcare and has decided to go back to school to complete prerequisites to apply to Physician Assistant schools in 2025. This decision came at a great time! Bailey was promoted to a Scheduling Supervisor position with her ambulance company, which has allowed for her to balance her school schedule with work. Anyone who knows Bailey knows she has a strong passion for music. Bailey is a percussionist with The Desert Overture Wind Symphony, an LGBT and Ally concert band that puts on 4 full concerts yearly. In her free time, Bailey enjoys cooking, playing video games with Rachel, and visiting her local coffee shop to study. Together, Bailey and Rachel are continuously on the hunt for the best espresso martini Phoenix has to offer.