We met at the University of Colorado Denver Business School while both working as advisors: Courtney for undergrad students and Drew for graduate. We were on the same floor for a few months but didn't think much of it until Drew's office got moved right across the hall from Courtney's. We bonded over coffee, crazy student stories, and a love of craft beer. We pretended like we were just friends and met up frequently after work at Fresh Craft. Though there was a little hesitancy about dating as colleagues (DREW!), we eventually decided to just go for it and officially start dating. Countless breweries, two graduations, one house, and a puppy later, here we are!

Courtney moved to CO in 2010, didn't have a car, and had never been up to the mountains. The Stanford family (Burkett family's close friends who live in CO) was incredibly kind and showed Courtney the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. It was September, the aspens were golden, and the air was crisp with fall. They hiked the Deer Mountain Trail and, it was so stunning, it confirmed to Courtney that she had made the right choice leaving California and making Colorado her new home. About 9 years later and after 4 years of dating, we decided to stay in Estes Park and hike that same Deer Mountain Trail - Drew had never been and Courtney was dying to show him the hike that made her fall in love with Colorado. We also had plans to stay the weekend at the nearby Stanley Hotel - the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining." It would be the perfect Colorado weekend! Little did Courtney know that Drew had a surprise up his sleeve - or actually in his camelback... We woke up early on October 18, 2019 and enjoyed a nearly empty trail - it was a chilly Friday morning, almost unusually quiet with barely any other hikers. We made it to the top and were shocked to find no one else on the summit. We took pictures of the amazing landscape and a few selfies. It was supposed to start raining in a couple hours so we decided to head back down fairly quickly. "But first, I have one other thing," Drew said, as he reached in his backpack. That's when Drew got down on one knee, said he was so grateful that this hike had made Courtney fall in love with Colorado because it would eventually lead her to him, and asked her to marry him. It was of course a yes and we celebrated at a brewery afterward, calling friends and family with the good news.