Rachel's story: It was the first week of Spring semester 2016 at SSU. I went into one of my classes, sat down and began surveying the room to see if there was anyone I knew. There were about 120 people in the class and Max caught my eye from across the room. I'd never felt so drawn to someone I had never met, I needed to know who he was. So, I devised a plan and decided that next class I would show up early, wait for him to get there, and sit next to him. The next session rolls around and he shows up early too - something I have since learned is deeply habitual - I followed him in and the whole room was empty. 119 seats available and I chose the one directly to the right of his and started reading my book. I was obviously encroaching on his personal space so he asked me what book I was reading, the conversation got going and we spent the whole class goofing off like little kids. After class he walked me to my car, sweetly offered me his jacket because I was shivering, asked me on a date, and the rest is history! Max's story: It’s a weekday afternoon and I have arrived early to my class. I enter the empty classroom and proceed to grab a seat in the back. There I was, minding my own business when some lady just sits down right next to me. I was so caught off guard considering there were literally over 100 other seats she could have chose… I turn and look at her and see a beautiful woman who I had never met before. Instead of saying anything to me, she just opens her book and starts reading. The ball was clearly in my court, so I broke the silence by asking about her book. Upon having that first little chat, I knew that something was special about this person. We quietly chatted in the back of that class for the entire lecture (a theme which continued throughout the semester and thus landed me a sub-par grade… totally worth it). I walked her to her car after class and asked her on a date. Almost six years later, we are getting married!

We got engaged during a surprise trip planned by Max to Two Harbors, Catalina. We got to our campsite and we decided to take a swim before the sun went down. Shortly after, we went up to a cliff we had spotted on the ferry ride over. That's where Max got down on one knee and we spent the rest of the trip celebrating! We camped, snorkeled, went paddle boarding and stayed at a historic hotel with a view of both harbors on our last night. In the picture at the bottom of the page, you can see our campsite, the beach where we swam and the spot where Max proposed is on the cliff just to the left of where the sand ends.