Theresa and Sam first met in February 2022, when Sam had a year-long business trip from San Francisco to the Tokyo office where Theresa was working. What started out as friendly desk neighbors who shared snacks and went out for casual food outings, quickly grew to realizing shared values, vision, and feelings. Just 3 weeks before Sam had to return to San Francisco, Theresa mustered the courage to tell Sam her feelings, to which Sam responded with suggesting a long distance relationship. The next three years was no easy feat, as SFO and NRT airports quickly became the happiest and saddest place on Earth for them. But through weekly video calls, letters, gifts, short reunions in San Francisco and Tokyo, and the mutual belief that this was something special, the two were somehow able to make it work. As their 3 year anniversary approached, Sam got down on one knee in front of Theresa in Tokyo where they first met. On September 26th, 2025, Theresa and Sam registered their marriage in Japan. Soon after, Theresa was accepted to work at UC Berkeley, which officially closed their 3 year long distance chapter and began the next page of living in the San Francisco Bay Area as a married couple. Theresa and Sam would like to honor those who supported them these past few years, by inviting them to their wedding in Tokyo.