His parents took great care in choosing his name. He was named after his grandfather "Rikio" who went by "Rik" (which is why they spelled it De-rik). While excitedly waiting in the hospital after he was born, the nurse finally came out and called out, "Baby Derik"! To their dismay, another mother also raised her hand. His parents worried they had chosen a name that was too popular, so decided to call him "Sam", short for his middle name, Osamu. The name, "Sam", is also an ode to his other grandfather, Masao, who went by "Mas" for short (Sam is Mas spelled backwards). For what it's worth, there do seem to be more people named Derik (Derek? Derrick? Daric?) than Sam in our age group... After Sam graduated from high school and was preparing for college across the country, he had a choice to make: continue to go by Sam or start using his first name. In all honesty, he just did not want to have to explain the whole naming story to his professors at his new school so opted for Derik for convenience. Although he still has to correct people on pronouncing and spelling Kumagai (coo-mah-guy) and has to clarify how to spell his first name, he at least doesn't have to explain the story behind "Sam" anymore. So his family and childhood friends, mostly on the West coast, call him Sam. People he met in college and beyond, mostly on the East coast, know him as Derik. Yes, Helena calls him Derik. However, to make it even more (or maybe less) confusing, his soon-to-be mother-in-law could never remember the name "Derik" when they were first dating so asked if he had a nickname. For some reason, Sam is easier to remember than Derik so now calls him Sam, but usually Sammy and sometimes Samo.

She was born in Barcelona and grew up mostly speaking Spanish and Catalan. Her mother liked the name Eleanor and together her parents decided on Helena, the Catalan spelling of the Spanish name Elena. Her mother intended it to be pronounced “Heh-lay-na” in English. Although Helena spoke some English growing up, and at times was even fluent, she was mostly in a non-English-speaking environment. So to her, her name was “Eh-le-na” in Spanish or “Ah-le-na” in Catalan. When she moved to New Jersey in 5th grade she was shy and barely spoke English. She felt uncomfortable telling people her name. She tried saying it the way her mother suggested in English, “Heh-lay-na”, but she wasn’t sure if she was saying it right and it didn’t feel right anyway. When she said it in Spanish people would be confused, couldn’t get it right, and asked too many questions. So she let others decide, and was called “Ha-lee-na” until 8th grade. High School was an opportunity to introduce herself to new teachers and classmates the way she preferred to be called, but what was that? The English “H” sound never felt right to her and she thought asking people to call her by the original Spanish or Catalan pronunciation would likely end in failure. People now know her as “Eh-lay-na”. The “H” is silent, but not “Ee-lay-na”, it’s like the beginning of elephant.

We met the way most people in our generation meet, on a dating App, Coffee meets Bagel to be specific. Helena was in her first year of Pediatric residency in the Bronx while Derik was working for PricewaterhouseCoopers as an accountant and consultant and lived in Manhattan but spent the majority of the week traveling for work. Our first date was at a Ramen and Cocktail place on a cold Sunday night in February 2017. At that time, Helena was getting used to her 70-hour work-weeks and constant sleep deprivation. She was determined to make the most of her days off and finally accepted that her schedule would remain this busy for a long time and that was not a valid excuse to avoid dating. Derik also worked very long hours, but that would soon end. He had plans to quit his job in the Spring and travel before leaving New York. He would move to Japan to teach English or across the country to start an MBA program. After the 2nd and 3rd dates it was becoming clear that this had potential. Unfortunately, Derik was moving as far away as he could from New York and Helena was committed to working in New York for 2 more years. After a wonderful summer together Derik moved to Seattle, WA, to attend the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and we began a 22-month long-distance count-down.

Nos conocimos como se conocen muchos hoy en día, por una aplicación, se llama Coffee Meets Bagel (el café se encuentra con el panecillo). Helena estaba en su primer año de residencia de Pediatría en el Bronx y Derik trabajaba de contable y consultor en Pricewaterhouse Coopers; él vivía en Manhattan, pero se pasaba la mayoría del tiempo viajando para su trabajo. Nuestra primera cita fue en un sitio que sirve Ramen y Cocteles un frígido sábado en febrero del 2017. Helena se estaba acostumbrando a trabajar 70 horas a la semana y a estar constantemente agotada. Estaba decidida, iba a disfrutar de los días libres lo más posible y por fin aceptó que su agenda seguiría así de llena por largo tiempo y eso no era escusa para no conocer a gente nueva. Derik también trabajaba muchísimas horas, pero eso pronto se terminaría. Su plan era dejar el trabajo en la primavera y viajar antes de irse de Nueva York. Se mudaría a Japón para ser profesor de Ingles o al otro extremo de los Estados Unidos para empezar un MBA. Después de la segunda y tercera cita se veía claro que iban para lo largo. Desafortunadamente, Derik se iba lo mas lejos posible de Nueva York y Helena estaba contratada para trabajar en Nueva York por 2 años más. Después de un verano genial juntos Derik se mudo a Seattle, Washington para estudiar un MBA en la Universidad de Washington y empezaron los 22 meses de relación a larga distancia.

Derik is completing his MBA in Seattle and will miss being a student spending his time playing basketball and singing and playing in the Foster Band. After completing a successful summer internship, he accepted a finance position at Nike, his dream job! In mid-June we will both be in Seattle celebrating his graduation. Helena is so close to finishing her Pediatric residency in New York. She will miss the pace of the city and, most importantly, her family. She has accepted a position at Kaiser Permanente Norwest in combination with OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital! Derik will be in New York for her graduation just before his and then we will both be in New York until the end of June. After we return from our honeymoon we will be moving to Portland, OR to begin our new life together with Mango (Derik’s one-eyed cat)!

Derik está terminando el MBA en Seattle, Washington. Extrañará la vida de estudiante, pero más que nada, los eventos sociales y formar parte del grupo musical. El ya ha firmado un contrato con Nike en el departamento de finanza, ¡la exacta posición que quería! A medianos de junio los dos estaremos en Seattle celebrando su graduación. Helena está a punto de terminar la residencia en pediatría en Nueva York. Extrañará el ritmo de la ciudad, pero más que nada, extrañará a su familia. ¡Ha firmado un contrato con Kaiser Permanente Norwest en combinación con OHSU Doernbecher Hospital de Niños! Derik estará en Nueva York para su graduación justo antes de la de él y después estaremos los dos en Nueva York hasta el final de junio. ¡Cuando regresemos de la luna de miel nos mudaremos a Portland, Oregón y empezaremos una nueva vida juntos con Mango (el gato tuerto de Derik)!