We both lived in the same dorm building our freshman year at the University of Oregon — Joanna on the second floor and Dom on the third — and our floors shared a split-level lounge. In October of 2015, two extraordinary things happened: the first was that the New York Mets made it to the Major League Baseball World Series, which gave Dom no choice but to venture down to the lounge for the first time to request it be played on TV. The second extraordinary thing was that Joanna walked in during the game and introduced herself to Dom. Many late nights of conversation later, and much "will he, won't she" from friends, we officially began dating.

In 2017, we officially moved in together with our friends Hannah and Emily, in a sometimes-chaotic-but-loving apartment near the college campus. Living with three strong and capable women taught Dom a lot, and Hannah and Emily remain two of our closest friends to this day. We enjoyed meeting and spending time with each other's families, who welcomed each of us in with open arms and have been a constant pillar of support during easy and hard times. In 2019, Joanna graduated, and Dom followed suit in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic. Joanna began her Master's program, which prompted us to consider moving to the coastal town of Coos Bay, where the university has a satellite campus for their marine biology program. Though Dom was prepared to be a surf bum to follow Joanna, he was fortunate enough to find a job at a local architecture firm. Joanna graduated in late 2020 with her Master's Degree, and we bought a house in 2021, where we live with our two cats, Milo and Ollie. These days we enjoy our free time renovating our house, mountain biking in the local woods, kayaking in the bay, and otherwise enjoying our coastal life together.

After almost a year of training, we successfully ran the Eugene Half-Marathon together on May 1st, 2022. We met our dear friend Emily afterwards, who had her camera to take pictures of us at the finish line — or so Joanna thought. After recovering, we ordered pizza and walked to the nearby Washburne Park for "pizza in the park," a tradition that we had enjoyed many times during college. With the ring in his pocket, Dom asked Joanna for a post-meal photo, courtesy of Emily and her camera. Then he asked her to marry him.