We’re getting Maui’d!

Dory and Bryce met at Siena College, where they both transferred from different schools. Dory transferred to Siena in 2013 from FIU and Bryce transferred to Siena in 2014 from ACC. They met in the halls of Morrell Science Center in the Summer of 2014 while Bryce was visiting his soon to be professors. They were friends through junior year and took many chemistry classes together. The countless hours of chemistry homework sparked chemistry between them! It wasn't until spring senior year, after a few nights out together, when they realized they were a little more than friends.

In 2016, Dory and Bryce graduated from Siena College and went off to different graduate schools. The connection between them was so strong that they decided to try and make long distance work. Dory racked up her miles as she made countless trips to Cornell from Tennessee and California as she hopped around the country for school and research. Dory even convinced Bryce to venture out of his lab in order to travel to Tennessee and California where she always had a full weekend planned. Each trip was its own adventure, and their love only grew stronger. Three years of long distance went by, and once Dory graduated from University of Tennessee she made the jump to take a job in Schenectady, NY (only 3 hours from Cornell). The long distance relationship continued, but the distance became shorter and the visits became more frequent. Even through COVID, the two found a way to see each other and make the best of the trying times. Of course, getting a pandemic puppy together made the time much more fun! Finally Bryce graduated in December 2020 and took a job with GE in Schenectady, NY as well. They moved in together in January 2021 with their fur baby Mila. Finally, the long distance came to an end!

After the COVID craziness died down, Dory and Bryce decided to book a trip to Maui, Hawaii. Dory put together a day-by-day itinerary and had all the details outlined, except for one which she couldn't plan for. The second full day they were in Maui, they had plans to watch the sunset at the summit of Mount Haleakala, a dormant volcano. Rain poured down as they drove to the top, but the clouds began to clear when they reached the summit. After exploring the summit and taking plenty of pictures, they setup a spot to watch the sunset. It started to drizzle so Bryce ran back to the car to grab their rain jackets. In the meantime, Dory witnessed a proposal of another couple while Bryce was at the car. Once Bryce returned, she said "Hey you missed the proposal!", but little did she know that hers was only a few minutes away. Bryce proceeded to ask Dory to take a few more pictures. Dory begrudgingly got up from underneath the warm blanket to take a few more pictures. It was then, on the summit of Mount Haleakala at 10,023ft, Bryce got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. Of course Dory said yes, even before being asked if she would marry him! The newly engaged couple enjoyed the rest of their vacation as they sported around in their Jeep camper.