Before they were introduced to each other through friends, Shawn had already found Sonali on Facebook before coming to Duke. He had pegged her as a "pretentious", albeit pretty, California girl. The first time they met was at a much too crowded party, so they left along with two of their friends to go to find some air conditioning. Thus was the start of a great friendship. A couple months later, after business school parties, study sessions, and poolside hangouts, Shawn finally worked up the courage to ask Sonali to dinner. In true Sonali fashion, this was two weeks later than her internal deadline for when Shawn should have asked her out. Nevertheless, she agreed and they went to Pizzeria Toro and the Durham Hotel Rooftop, which would become two of their favorite spots. That first date would lead to countless laughs, many adventures and a cross-country move back to pretentious California. The rest is history.

Shawn convinced Sonali to meet up with their friends (who originally introduced them!) in Austin for a weekend trip. Sonali thought this was a reunion, but Shawn had secretly been plotting to make it an unforgettable, romantic weekend. The two of them had been to Austin before and had walked along the boardwalk at Lake Austin together. He decided that would be the perfect spot to revisit to propose. Over the weekend, they stayed with a friend who lives near the lake, and Shawn came up with a plan to completely surprise Sonali! One of their friends asked Sonali to walk with her around the lake. While they walked, Shawn quickly changed into a suit and drove over to the boardwalk with flowers, a picnic basket (holding Magnolia Bakery banana pudding, one of Sonali's favorite desserts), and champagne. He waited there for Sonali and their friend to walk down the boardwalk to find him standing there! She was in such deep conversation with her friend that didn’t notice Shawn until she was just a few yards away. The look of shock and happiness on her face was amazing! Afterward, they took a private walk along the lake, and Sonali was surprised by family and friends (who also flew across the country) waiting for them at a restaurant nearby! It made the proposal extra special that both sets of parents and siblings had flown out to celebrate their engagement.