It's hard to know the first day our story begins. Was it that first shared smile in August 2017 when Samantha peered up at Russell and thought to herself. 'That guy? The tall one? He's going to be important. I'm not sure why and I'm not sure when. But he will be.' Or maybe it was September, sharing a meal in our community lounge, two hungry strangers ordering food together. 'My knight in shining armor!' Samantha jokingly proclaimed as Russell delivered the food. Or was it on that cold December day when the pair ran into each other on their way to a staff party: ‘you look really beautiful’ Russell said to a blushing Samantha, catching her by surprise. Was it in January? With all those stolen glances and thinly veiled excuses to spend time with one another? ‘Want to try this video game?’ ‘I have a really good show I think you’d like.’ Maybe it was before all of that, when we both accepted a college job that we both didn't really want on a part of campus we swore we’d never want to live in. 'I’ll take anything but Towers Residence Halls.' So of course, we were both placed there, and for some reason, we both accepted. And in one stroke of a pen, we sealed our fate and the universe sighed and said 'finally.' We call February 24th, 2018, our first day. It was the day of our very first date, dinner and a movie. It was unseasonably warm for a February so we decided to take the 20 minute walk from Towers to a restaurant. The date was great but that walk was everything. The energy between us glittered and sparkled as we discovered we shared the same favorite spots on campus and shared stories of friends and family. That night, Russell asked Samantha to be his girlfriend. And the universe sighed and said ‘finally.’ What followed has been 6 years of anything and everything anyone would want out of love and life. We played a LOT of mini golf. Probably too much that first summer and Russell ALWAYS won. (Samantha is holding on to her big comeback one day!) They met each other’s families and only child Samantha has had the time of her life learning how to be a sister to Brooke, Megan, and Carly. We traveled as much as we could, desperate to see the world together. Russell’s first plane ride was to Puerto Rico with Samantha where he met her family on the island and fell in love with the roots that make Sam who she is. It was not always easy. In fact, it was sometimes excruciatingly hard. Upon graduating with his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2019, Russell accepted a job with Lockheed Martin that took him all the way to Arkansas. At the time, Russell didn’t know how long he’d be there. The prospect of long distance after only one year of dating was scary, but there was never a lapse in faith. We knew we would make things work. Samantha visited Arkansas multiple times, taking about 20 planes over the year on her trips to see Russell. Russell received news of a job offer at Sikorsky in Connecticut shortly after Samantha’s 22nd birthday. He returned home and our hearts grew stronger and closer. We quickly became ‘Russ and Sam’ to all of our friends and family. We moved in together in August 2021 and share our one eyed cat Allen. We’ve been busy learning how to navigate adult life, careers, friends, and each other. And then one day, February 24th, 2023, Russell took Samantha to the top of Horsebarn Hill at UConn. They gazed over at Towers, where it all started. Russell got down on one knee and asked those magic words. Samantha said yes and the universe sighed and said 'finally!'