It was the first Friday of their Junior year at college. The setting was Crecine Hall, first floor. Jose found himself waiting underneath fluorescent lights. He stood by the elevator, waiting to meet a group that included some of his friends. The elevator door opened and out came Katherine. Her smile was soft and, although she found herself in a huddled group of a dozen others, Jose thought that she burned the brightest. The two spent the next few hours in the company of mutual friends, chatting with one another, and laughing at each other's terrible jokes. Jose messaged Katherine the next day, hoping she would read the message and humor him with a date. Katherine agreed to hang out with him at their school's student center later that week, and the rest was history.

Katherine and Jose first met in the elevator lobby of their mutual friends' dormitory on August 21, 2015. After a few dates, Jose asked Katherine to be his girlfriend at a candlelit dinner on September 10, 2015. Katherine and Jose finished their undergraduate degrees together at Georgia Tech and graduated in May 2017. For their Master's degrees, Katherine moved to Greenville, NC while Jose stayed in Atlanta. Their relationship stayed strong during the two years of long distance, and they went on their first trip to Walt Disney World together in December 2017. In February 2019, Jose started a job with Boeing in Washington state. Once Katherine finished her degree in May 2019, she moved across the country to join Jose. While on a much needed vacation in Mount Rainier National Park over labor day weekend of 2020, Jose woke Katherine up early to go on a hike on the mountain. Thankful for the beautiful clear skies and crisp air, Jose got on one knee in front of the majestic mountain and proposed to Katherine.