We both worked at IBM/GF for the past 8 years, but had only seen each other around site a few times. Ryan was too cool to go to any of the work social or career development events that Amelia planned for the site so they never actually talked to each other. We would often go to the same bar trivia with our own group of friends playing separately. We were finally introduced one fateful day in January 2017 where our teams actually started to talk to each other. Our first real time hanging out was at the 2017 Women's March in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was clear very quickly that with our common love of Harry Potter, board games, and running silly races that this was the start of something special.

Good food, good drink, and the very best company. We flirted, got to know each other, admitted things one should never admit on a first date, and dared each other to sing karaoke. After a couple rounds of "let's not let this night end, let's find another bar," Ryan walked Amy home. It wasn't until months later we managed to admit to each other that we both knew, right then, that we had found our person.

Ryan took Amelia on a special surprise weekend in August. They flew to the romantic city of Detroit and then drove out to the wilderness of the upper peninsula. The target destination was to a bear ranch/sanctuary where Amelia was able to pet baby bears! After all of that fun, they drove to a national park on the northern coast called Pictured Rocks. They hiked to the shore and Ryan got down on one knee at "Chapel Rock".