Mk was in town, touring Iowa State with her mom after deciding to transfer schools freshman year. They toured the campus in January over winter break, but the tours had been canceled because of the cold. So she hopped on Facebook, found the Class of '23 group, and asked if anyone could show them around. A now-close friend, Rachel Albrecht, responded and offered a tour. They quickly hit it off—turns out they were both from Wisconsin, shared similar interests, and even had mutual friends. Later that day, Rachel invited her to stay the weekend in her dorm and hang out with her friends. She said yes—and that’s when the story really begins. That night was Bachelor night, and that’s when Joe entered the picture. He walked into the dorm, and she immediately thought he was so cute, but they only exchanged a couple of words. The night came and went; he left for his dorm, and she pulled up Instagram to follow “the cute guy from Bachelor night.” They followed each other, and just like that, she headed back to Wisconsin and Joe to Nebraska, as the school sent everyone home in 2020 later that week. Months passed without a word between them. The following semester, Mk officially transferred to Iowa State, and on her first night back in Ames, Rachel reached out and invited her to a house party. She said yes again. After getting ready, Rachel picked her up and they headed to the house. When they rang the doorbell, Joe answered. They both looked at each other, confused—clearly recognizing each other but unsure of where. As the night went on, they started talking and never stopped. They stayed up until 6 a.m. watching Cars 2 and chatting about life and each other's families. And from that night on, they’ve been together ever since :)