Meeting at Binghamton, they both were avid runners and involved in the running club. Jigar was the president and Erika was... sometimes there. Jigar and Erika bumped into each other occasionally, but only as friendly acquaintances. Jigar was the president and a serious runner, so Erika was admittedly intimidated by him... that is, until he opened his mouth. It wasn't until 2018 when Jigar and Erika became friendlier and found several shared interests such as film, music, reading, and running. As they spent more time together, both Jigar and Erika confided in (the same) mutual friend (which neither of them knew the other had ) that they may have romantic feelings for the other. This mutual friend told Jigar and he asked her out on a date after he gained a confidence boost thanks to a Moe's Monday dinner. Their first date was to Galaxy Brewing Co. in Binghamton followed by a outing to the observatory in Vestal, NY. The free entry for the telescope was preluded by a 50 minute lecture about frogs from a Broome County Community College professor, which Jigar was not aware of. However, Erika did enjoy the many frog facts and pictures that accompanied the lecture. The date concluded with Erika having an existential crisis after finding out about a nearby black hole. The dates continued and Erika eventually followed Jigar in October 2019 to the exciting and football crazed town of State College, PA. Go central PA! They moved in together during the pandemic to a lovely townhouse in June 2020 and have continued the date nights, nature walks, thrifting, ice cream runs, and more!