Our Story
Catholic Center Formals
Throughout our time at Georgia Tech, we attended three of the Catholic Center’s Formals together. Whilst brainstorming who she should go to the formal with during our freshman year, my name came up and Katrina infamously replied, “Michael Sweeney…the freshman?” (we were in the same class).
Tally Road Trip!
Now that I was no longer “the freshman” in our sophomore fall, Katrina invited herself along on my boys trip back home to Tallahassee to watch the Yellow Jackets defeat FSU in football (in a shocking turn of events they lost 41-16).
First Date
On September 3, 2023, I successfully took Katrina out on our first date at a cafe after Sunday Mass. Much to the suspicion of my friends, there was no photo evidence. It went great, and after several weeks of uncertainty about whether we were “dating” or just “going on dates”, we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.
New Years 2024
Only a few months into the relationship, Katrina braved Florida’s frigid winter to meet my family at New Years. They somehow didn’t scare her away…
New York Encounter 2024
Along with Kristin, Matthew, and Laurie, we traveled to New York in February for a Catholic Conference. We had a great weekend. Most importantly, Matthew and I seized the opportunity to throw snowballs at Katrina and Laurie in Central Park. Unfortunately, they didn’t hesitate to launch them right back.
Spring Break 2024
As we often do, we crammed as much as we could into our precious nine days off. First, we went to Wilmington to visit Kyle and Hannah, where we discovered the Basilica we are getting married in. After I briefly met up with some friends at a nearby beach, we traveled to Asheville where I met Katrina’s Uncle John before we hiked with my parents, Matthew, and Laurie.
Germany
Katrina visited me in Berlin at the beginning of my summer abroad. After a classic Katrina and Michael travel experience that included running to catch the bus on both ends of the trip, we visited Saxon Switzerland and Dresden. Katrina returned to the US for a summer of long distance.
Marine Officer Candidate School
While I traipsed around Europe, Katrina slogged through 6 weeks of OCS for the Marine Corps. The picture above was taken at her graduation, which was the first time we had talked since she arrived at the camp.
Life as neighbors
During the fall of 2024, we enjoyed living just a few houses away from each other. This picture was taken as we were leaving my house to celebrate one year of dating. I introduced Katrina to my favorite Thai restaurant, we reflected on the highs and lows of the last year, and we danced in my wonderfully decorated basement, nicknamed The Jolly Jacket Tavern.
Long Distance Begins
After graduating in December, I moved back to Tallahassee while Katrina finished her last semester at Georgia Tech. I made frequent trips back to Atlanta. The photo above is from the wedding of two of our friends.
St. George Island!
Katrina and a few of our friends trekked down to Tallahassee on the day I took the MCAT so they could tailgate in the parking lot. They got there late, so I finished the test before they got there, but we rallied, driving to St. George Island, where we camped on the beach in the state park. Since we got there after dark, we took some wrong turns, getting lost in the swamp and turning our 1.5 mile gear-laden march into a 2.5 mile adventure.
The Basic School Begins
After graduating from Georgia Tech, Katrina began her seven month Marine officer training at The Basic School in Quantico. During my visits, we had a great time exploring Washington DC.
Shenandoah
On one of my visits to Northern Virginia, we went to Shenandoah National Park. Katrina may have thought I was proposing to her that weekend…
The Big Ask
On September 20, I proposed to Katrina at sunrise on a beach outside Wilmington, NC. She said yes! (Well, she actually said “yeah”…)
Visiting Georgia Tech as Alums
During a jam-packed weekend visit to Atlanta, we took engagement photos, caught up with friends, and celebrated with Joe and Sofia, who got engaged that day!
What's next until the big day?
Katrina graduated from The Basic School and will finish the last step of her Marine training in May. We plan to take a little time off in the weeks leading up to the wedding to spend time with family and begin setting up in our TBD future city! We are excited to see everyone in June!