Sara, for some reason, had willingly signed up to take Discrete Math at Johns Hopkins University during her freshman fall semester. Michael, on the other hand, didn’t realize the importance of early class registration and found himself enrolled in the same course only because there were still open seats. The two had first met during captains' practices for the swim team, but they really got to know each other studying together. You can’t say propositional calculus and matrix algebra are good for nothing, because pouring over them together for hours gave Sara and Michael the opportunity to ‘derive’ a great friendship. They started to wonder if there was something more between them once they both realized they were actually having fun doing problem sets together. Just before the spring semester started, Michael asked Sara out for a fun dinner date at Golden West Cafe in Hampden. Next came ice cream and Oreo runs, library dates, and swim meet bus buddies. The rest is history. Cheers to a future of less college math and more loving adventures!

8,421 miles behind the wheel of the car. 187 miles of hiking. 104 meals out of a cooler. 56 nights in a tent. 19 ice cream stops. 15 states. 11 national parks. In late April 2021, Michael and Sara departed for a fantastic two month road trip exploring the central and western states. While managing to keep a giant secret and a beautiful engagement ring in his ‘sock box’, Michael developed a detailed and thoughtful plan. In the wee hours of the morning on May 27th, he snuck the ring into his backpack. According to plan, they hiked up to Taft Point in Yosemite National Park. At the end of the trail, with an incredible view overlooking El Capitan and Sara’s parents hidden in the bushes, Michael got down on one knee and made a heartfelt proposal. 1 emphatic YES!