If you ask Patrick, he’ll tell you that he vividly remembers the first time he met Sarah. They shared a carpool home, and she was the girl who slept the whole way from Grinnell to Madison. Sarah remembers none of that, so she’d tell you they met through mutual friends. Sarah was Patrick’s physics mentor (liberal arts college version of TA), and his Community Advisor (Grinnell version of RA). Patrick left a strong impression on Sarah by being the only person to respond to her offers to take requests for food at events, always sending a photo of the exact Wisconsin cheese offered at a store in town (which Sarah never bought because shopping at McNally’s was a stretch of the Residence Life budget).

Sarah and Patrick’s first date was on Sarah’s birthday! They drove all the way to Iowa City to get some great Thai food. The only kicker: Sarah was super sick, later sporting a fever of 102. The spicy Thai food must have helped cure her - or maybe it was the budding romance. Since then, they’ve been on many dates, bonding over good food, music, beer, and wine. Honestly, they’d consider themselves homebodies. They’d much prefer just hanging out at home and cooking a nice meal together.

A couple days before Christmas, Patrick and Sarah were visiting with Patrick's family in NC. Patrick began to get very antsy, insisting the dog needed to go for a walk. Sarah, being of sound mind, disagreed. Patrick finally convinced Sarah to take a walk down to the beach. When they arrived Patrick wasted no time in dropping to one knee and proposing! And Sarah said yes! They enjoyed a lovely brunch on the beach with champagne and smoked salmon. As they were relaxing, a pod of dolphins started jumping just off of shore! The universe must have been happy to celebrate as well!

Like many folks during the pandemic, both Sarah and Patrick found themselves reflecting on the their jobs... and they knew something was missing. In seeing the harm that inequitable educational institutions can cause, Sarah became disillusioned about studying pure physics and wanted to pursue something that would help people. After an impromptu email to a Physics Education Research professor at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and a chat with him over coffee, she decided to transfer PhD programs! Patrick didn't feel attached to his job at Epic and realized that the stress was bubbling over into other aspects of his life. He is now working for Arrow Lift, an accessibility device company, as their business applications engineer and is enjoying the difference in working at a 100-person family-run company, as opposed to a corporation of more than 11,000 employees. Together, they prioritized their happiness, as a couple and as individuals, and haven't looked back! Now, they live in Minneapolis, MN in their first home. They're loving the adventure of homeownership and a more relaxed pace of life. Let them know if you're ever in the Twin Cities... Word on the street is they have a guest bedroom :)