Campus Canoodling
(continued)

Susan Shaw, Warren ’85, and Laura Lyn, Warren ‘85
Susan Shaw (Communications/Visual Arts) and Laura Lyn (then Laura Giddings, Psychology) met on their way to take the math placement test at UCSD during Warren College freshman orientation in June 1981. They were best friends during college, and had a brief romance during their junior year. After that, they took separate paths for a decade, but remained good friends. Susan and Laura reunited as a couple in December of 1993, and celebrated 13 years together this Christmas (and 25 years of friendship). They have two daughters, ages 2 and 5 years. The family lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., where Susan works in human resources for a national business and Laura is a psychologist at the university and in private practice.

Neta Retter, ERC ’05, and Edan Wernik, Revelle ‘03
Neta studied electrical engineering (her father and grandfather’s careers) at UCSD and she was very active with the San Diego Israel Alliance and Hillel (Jewish student organization). In May of 2002 she represented UCSD on the Hillel Advocacy Mission to Israel.

I was a Revelle student and completed a major in biotechnology. I was also involved with the Jewish organizations on campus. The spring of 2002 was a time of great unrest in the Middle East. A group of friends of mine and I decided to have a pro-Israel peace rally on campus. We planned a day with Israeli food, guest speakers and a booth on Library Walk that had information about Israel. The booth also had paper cut-outs of peace doves so that students could stop by, decorate them and write messages for peace on them. Neta had just returned from the advocacy mission to Israel and stopped by our booth to decorate a dove. That’s when we met.

Neta is now working for Broadcom in Irvine, Calif., where I am finishing my last year of medical school. We love to hang out with our friends, play sports and different games (Neta claims that my victories are all due to luck). We especially enjoy traveling and have already been to Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Spain, France, Greece and Turkey together and hope to have many more trips.

We got married on September 3, 2006, in Israel where we both have family and friends.

Karen Garcia, Muir ’84, and Matt Belshin, Muir ’82
Karen (Karey) Garcia lives in Del Mar with husband Matt Belshin and their three children (Brigit, Bree and Bryce), dog (Austin) and fish (Swimmy).

It was not exactly love at first sight. I can say it was “crush at first sight.” I was 18; Matt was 20 and my orientation leader. I had not even wanted to attend freshmen orientation, figuring I could certainly get by without it, having just graduated from high school and all. My mother, however, convinced me I should go.

Matt likes to say he had to give up a couple of first round draft choices to get me in his group. He was finishing his second year, was on the swim team and a lifeguard. The sunset walk to the cliffs above Blacks Beach was the clincher. I can still picture him as he sat on the bluff, wearing a gray UCSD sweatshirt, telling me about swimming and his summers spent lifeguarding at the beach.

We saw each other frequently around campus, studying on the fifth floor of Central Library (now Geisel Library) or playing tennis, but we did not date for two years. It was toward the end of his senior year, the end of my second, and I was taking a break from studying in the old Humanities Library, enjoying a bag of corn nuts and reading the Guardian. I was sitting on the grass near the Revelle fountain when Matt saw me and walked over for a chat. Feeling self-conscious about my corn nut breath, I kept offering him some of my snack while we talked. He continued to decline, unfortunately. A student production of “Grease” was currently playing on campus and Matt kept bringing it up. I remember thinking, “Just ask me, I’ll say ‘yes.’”

Fast forward seven years to a cross country ski trail near Sun Valley, Idaho. With each stride, Matt said to himself, “Should I or…,” another stride, “Shouldn’t I?” (ask me to marry him). “Should I or shouldn’t I?” He had quite a rhythm going as he pulled far ahead of me.

As I write these words, 17 years of marriage, three children, two dogs and countless adventures later, I can truly say I am glad I went to orientation and glad I said “yes” to both questions, which he did indeed finally ask.

Melissa Ricard, Muir ’84, and Ric Ricard, Revelle ‘85
My husband, Ric Ricard, is now a professor of education at Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi (Ph.D. Harvard) and I am an administrative law judge for the state of Texas (USC Law).

We met at Summer Bridge and had the most amazing four years at UCSD. We loved every minute of it.

In August of 1981, a small desert-town girl met an inner-city boy at UCSD, and over the next four years, they learned, loved and laughed their way through a quality education and a wonderful life experience. Little did they know that their meeting would forever change their lives. He was a Revelle psych major, and she a Muir poli. sci. major.

After eating at the Ratskellar or the Revelle Deli, they would spend many nights studying and napping at Central Library until the workers would yell "Library's closed!" at midnight and off they would return to Muir apartment Q-12 and Beagle Hall. They sat through each other's classes at P&L and USB and cared for his lab animals together. He typed (actually on a typewriter!) all her papers and won her heart. Sure they studied hard, and took their classes seriously, but they also took having fun seriously.

They volunteered for the Student Council Programming Commission which conducted the T.G.I.F.s on the grassy knoll where kegs and live bands flowed freely (this was the 80s!) working at the Pepsi booth and bringing pitchers of beer to the band. They took scuba classes together and went on field trips to Mexico (details about arrests and "borrowed" university vehicles are still plausibly deniable). They danced all night long with friends at the Third College apartments to Billy Idol and Madonna (again, this was the 80s!, big hair and Michael Jackson jackets and all) and never missed the legendary toga parties at Warren. Their intramural coed flag football team, named "REA," ran the gamut from losing every game one year to earning a spot in the playoffs the next. Life at UCSD was really, really good.

But, alas, all good things come to an end, but no matter where else in the world they went (L.A., Boston, New York, Texas), they never forgot all the amazing times they had at UCSD (even if it was the 80s!).

Anyway, it was fun to spend a little time thinking about these things, in any event. That was 25 years ago, and tomorrow is our 20th anniversary, my how time flies. Now our dilemma is whether we want our oldest son, who is 16 to have as much fun as we did in college. Maybe it would be better if he didn't!

Brooke Shambora Armstrong, Muir ‘95
I was one of three couples that met at UCSD and then married. Currently, we all live outside the Sacramento area in a town called El Dorado Hills and Folsom. Two of us live across the street from each other. Between the three couples, we have 6 kids under the age of 6.

Timothy Lindfelt, Revelle ’04
My wife and I met our freshman year at Wormhole (a one-time universitywide fair on RIMAC Lawn) in 2000. Despite her being a typical Warren partier and me a studious Reveller, we hit it off. We became "study buddies" from that day on (even though my grades took a dive) until we graduated. We then moved to the Bay Area and got married a few months later. I'm a mechanical engineer and she's almost done with her pharmacy doctorate. Wow, our kids are going to be smart – especially with my super Revelle genes!

Monique DiPaolo Carne, Muir ’91, and Doug Carne, Muir ‘90
It was fall 1986 at Muir College and I was selected to reside on the fifth floor of Tioga Hall which was part of the house theme "Wilderness House." The fifth and sixth floors were designated to partake in activities revolving around the great outdoors. Who knew that God had a bigger plan when I came to UCSD that fall. I met my husband of almost 10 years, Doug Carne. We were friends at the start and our relationship blossomed with our first date on Valentine's Day, 1987. Our first two years at UCSD as a couple were filled with so many memories including late nights runs to Roberto’s for munchies, "Star Trek" reruns at 11:30 p.m. every night with the gang, listening to David Bowie endlessly and of course, dancing and libations in Tijuana! I know that "Wilderness House" was infamous for long-lasting romances. Doug and I are one of them! We went our separate ways for a number of years but that connection from college, "Wilderness House" and first love brought us full circle.

Mervyn Kowalsky, Warren ’93, Ph.D. ’97, and Lani Kroopnick-Kowalsky, Muir ‘94
My husband (Mervyn Kowalsky) and I met in 1992 (spring quarter) while I was taking AMES15, and he was one of the TAs. We played intramural softball together during that quarter and that summer we started dating. We got married in 1996 while he was still working on his Ph.D. in structural engineering (he graduated in 1997). I graduated with a B.S. in bioengineering in 1994.

Gesa Kirsch, Ph.D. ‘88
It was May 1987, and I was living in Mesa graduate student housing. My lucky day came when my old car started to leak an unidentified fluid. I sat on the curb of the parking lot, staring at the drip-drip-drop coming from my engine. Leaning my head in my hands, I worried about where I would find the money for the impending repair.

That's when a handsome young man walked by, asked what the matter was, dipped his finger into the oily, grey pool of fluid, and wondered whether it was gasoline or oil. No, he didn't fix the leak or linger much longer, but it was the first time I laid eyes on Tony Schreiner, the graduate student who lived in the building next door. He had a view of the
parking lot and tells me that he, too, had noticed me.

He worked as a research associate at Scripps; I worked as a TA at Third College (now Marshall). We met for lunch on our respective parts of campus, went on a bike ride along the coast highway, and hiked in Cuyamaca State Park. Our romance blossomed, but because I was finishing my degree and looking for a job that year, I was convinced that our paths would soon part. "Enjoy it while it lasts," I told myself, and perhaps it was that attitude that made for a great start of our friendship.

It’s been twenty years. We have lived in Michigan (my first job), Oregon (his first job), Illinois (our next jobs), toured the world on bicycles (no jobs that year) and moved to Boston to be closer to family and friends (among them another UCSD couple). It’s been a wonderful journey and every once in a while I remind myself, "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Gesa Kirsch is now an English professor at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.

Anthony Schreiner, SIO ‘90, and Karen Redd, Third/Marshall ‘88
Anthony Schreiner is a research associate and computer systems administrator for biology and physics at Boston College.

My husband and I met in the fall of 1984 through mutual friends at the Third College apartments. We began dating in October 1987, graduated in June 1988, and were married in July 1992. We are now living in Orange County and have three sons.

Leslie November Goetz, Warren ’82, & Jon Goetz, Warren ‘82
We met during welcome week 1978 at the Warren College dorms our freshman year, and were married two months after graduation. We will celebrate our 24th anniversary this summer. We scheduled our spring quarter classes to be done by 10 a.m. each day, so we could take the free bus to La Jolla Shores and "study" every afternoon (at least we always brought our books). We went to Tijuana the Saturday before our first finals week, and Leslie was the only UCSD student we knew who was ever carded and refused alcohol there. We lived in the Warren apartments, next to where the Chargers had their summer training camp, and one summer Leslie scolded football legend Dan Fouts for taking up two parking spaces in the apartment parking lot. A roommate who was a Charger fan explained to her why this was unacceptable behavior. Jon wrote our names in wet cement on a sidewalk on the Warren campus, but there's probably a building there now. Good times.

Chris Mahn, Revelle ’97, and Bethany M. Mahn, ERC ‘97
My husband Chris and I have the cheesiest story, as I was the first girl he met freshmen year. We lived in the same dorm and he was actually the first guy to sleep in my room, as we fell asleep talking. We were good friends for the first two years of college, dating other people, until one day...voila! We realized how much we adored each other and finally got together at the end of our sophomore year. However, I was headed to France through EAP study abroad for our third year of college. Needless to say, we stayed together and then after 8 years we finally got married and now we have a 2 year-old daughter, Piper. We still live and work in San Diego, not far from campus.

Stephanie Kaplan, Muir ’88, and Josh Kaplan, Muir ‘88
It was welcome week at Muir College in 1984. The first night, the RAs came around and told us to go out to the Muir quad to meet people. Off I went ... I saw two guys sitting alone and went up to them and said, "Hi, I'm Stefanie, let's go meet some people." One of those guys is now my husband of 17 years, Josh.

Joe Leventhal, Marshall ’99, and Erin Patrick, Revelle ‘99
Joe Leventhal and Erin Patrick met near the end of their junior year at UCSD. Joe had just been elected A.S. president for the 1998-99 academic year and Erin was in search of a public relations internship to help gain additional experience before she graduated the following year.

Erin applied for a director of PR position working directly for Joe to help bring additional publicity to the Associated Students and their initiatives.

“I wanted to choose a Director based on their skills. Fortunately for me, Erin had the skills and the looks,” said Joe.

“Joe was so good-looking and impressive when I met him, but I just couldn’t get over how genuine and thoughtful he was. He really took an interest in everything I had to say,” said Erin.

Erin got the job, but despite their mutual attraction, Joe and Erin kept a strictly professional relationship.

“Even though I wanted to date Erin in college, I didn’t think it would be appropriate to date someone who was ‘interning’ in my office. Plus, her boyfriend at the time probably would have had something to say about it,” said Joe.

They both graduated the following June and Joe specifically asked Erin to keep in touch, because he felt that her talent and skills in public relations might someday lead them to work together again in the future.

Three years passed and Erin was preparing for a business trip to Washington, D.C. She had just happened to stumble on UCSD’s alumni website and noticed that Joe was the president of the Washington, D.C. chapter. After sending him an e-mail letting him know that she’d be in the area, they agreed to meet for drinks – and Joe confessed that he had a crush on her in college.

“A few days after, we met for drinks [and] I told one of my best friends that I knew I was going to marry Erin ... We hadn’t been on our first date yet. But at least my friend wasn’t surprised when he was asked to be in the wedding,” said Joe.

“It was great to catch up with Joe during that fateful trip to D.C., but I had no idea how serious he was about me until I was back in San Diego. He’s a man who knows what he wants and fortunately, it was me. The connection we made while at UCSD helped our relationship progress at a faster speed than we probably would have otherwise,” said Erin.

Joe courted Erin for eight months before proposing at the Hotel del Coronado. The two were married 14 months later in June 2004 and currently reside in Rancho Bernardo.

Juliana Rubenstein, Warren ’94, and Ira Rubenstein, Revelle ‘87
Ira Rubenstein made his first appearance in my life in the spring of 1986, but we didn't actually meet until July 3, 1989, at the wedding of two other UCSD alumni: Josh Kaplan and Stefanie (Fox) Kaplan. But even with this confluence of UCSD students, meeting Ira really had little to do with the place.

Josh's family and mine had been very close, since we were little kids. I went to his wedding and met a bunch of his Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity brothers—Ira among them. Ira asked me to dance, and by the end of the evening had given me a goodbye kiss in front of not only my mother, but also my childhood rabbi—very embarrassing, but very sweet.

It was the summer of 1989. I was still in school, but Ira had just moved up to Los Angeles and was staying with his grandmother until he could find a place of his own. I went to visit him there, where his grandma got me alone to tell me what a good husband he would one day make (Grandma Fanny was right!).

Also on that trip, I noticed that sitting on her coffee table was the UCSD course catalog for 1986, my freshman year. I asked Ira why his grandma had my freshman catalog on her coffee table. She takes the book and flips to a page with his picture and personal profile, one of several students they had chosen to highlight that year.

And then I remembered. Over 3 years before, I vividly remember sitting in my bedroom at home, completely absorbed in the catalog and the adventure I was about to have at UCSD, and I saw his picture and thought, "What a nice Jewish boy. Wouldn't my mother love him?!"

And she does.

Nancy Bernal, Warren ’03, and Sergio Bernal, Warren ‘04
Sergio and I met at UCSD in 1999 and were just married June 3, 2006. He now works for an industrial metals company in Chula Vista and I work here at UCSD in ERC.

We met in 1999 when I was living in the Warren apartments with three great friends—one of which was dating my husband’s best friend at the time. During the first week of school, Sergio came to campus looking for his friend and couldn’t remember the building or apartment number but for some reason remembered his friend’s girlfriend’s building and apartment number—where I also lived. He knocked on our door, introduced himself and greeted us with his great smile and warm personality. We invited him in and told him they would back from class in about 15 minutes. From the beginning, there was a spark between us that everyone noticed, but we wouldn't admit to it. His personality was just so joyful and full of life that it was impossible not to sit and talk with him. From that point on, the six of us became great friends and would go to the beach together, cook for each other and go to the library to study. But we had the most fun together during that Christmas break when Sergio and I put together a Christmas tree in my apartment. We didn't have enough money to buy a real tree, so instead we bought some cheap Christmas lights and formed a 'light tree' on one of the apartment walls. We stepped back and noticed it was missing something—a star! So we looked around and it clicked—Cheerios! We got some string and threaded the Cheerios through so we could tie the ends together and make a star out of it. Then we all put our gifts for each other under our tree and enjoyed a memorable dinner that all of us prepared.

Also during that year, Sergio and I were applying for our citizenship and we’d go on early morning 'dates' at 4 a.m. to stand in the freezing cold in order to get in line for the immigration office downtown. Luckily, the cold and sleepiness never really bothered us because we always had something to talk about—even at 4 a.m. Throughout all of this we were always friends and never admitted to each other what we felt, no matter how much other people kept telling us that the other was interested. Maybe the timing was just off. After that year we lost touch but would see each other from time to time on campus and it always made my day because I’d remember how much fun it was to be with him. During my junior and senior year we ended up taking a couple of courses together and would get together in groups to study before midterms. The spark was still there (and everyone noticed) but still, neither of us said anything. After class he’d walk me to my car and on one of those occasions he told me that he was helping start a Mexican folk dancing group on-campus and that I should join. I had danced in high school, so I went with him one day and joined the group. We pulled off a very successful Cinco de Mayo presentation and I graduated in June of that year. I figured I would never see him again and I really just gave up on the idea of us as a couple. I figured it just wasn’t meant to be. Then one day during the summer, which coincidently happened to be my birthday, he called and asked if I was busy that Friday night, because there was a fair in his hometown and was wondering if I wanted to go. Of course I took the offer and had a great time! From there it took about 6 months for us to get it together and officially start dating but it has been great since then! I came back to UCSD to help him with the folklorico group and we celebrated his graduation in 2004. Then in December 2004 he proposed and the world has been nothing but happiness. We were engaged for a year and a half and just two and a half weeks ago were married here in San Diego, Calif. Sergio and I are still active within the UCSD community and have been very active with the UCSD Chicano Alumni Association which just this past year established new programs and made big steps towards UCSD Chicano student preparation for the world after UCSD. We were both very lucky to meet here and to still be a part of the UCSD community.

Kipp Martell, Warren ’86, and Deborah Martell, Muir ‘89
While we didn't actually meet while we were at UCSD, we did shortly after graduation. We met at a small company in San Diego (which was, coincidently, founded by a UCSD alumnus) and became quick friends. Together with some other coworkers, we worked on UCSD alumni events, including an annual fundraiser, a 10k race called Joggin' and Jammin'. That was many years ago and now we're living in Boise, Idaho, and are the proud parents of eight-year old twins, Quinn and Berkly. I am a marketing manager at Hewlett-Packard and Deborah is a freelance graphic designer.

Although we didn't know each other at UCSD, we learned we had many mutual friends and acquaintances and discovered we were at UCSD events and parties at the same time, including the Che Café, TGIFs and the coffee shop at The Grove.

We still have family in San Diego and are planning to give our kids a tour of the campus when we visit next month. While they may think some of our stories are boring, I'm sure they'll get a kick out of learning about the annual watermelon drop and seeing some of the Stuart Collection installations, including the Sun God.

Michelle (Johnson) Casad, Warren ’01, and Andrew Casad, Warren ‘01
At Earl Warren College’s freshman orientation in June 1997, we both came with our mothers. During this orientation our mothers somehow found one another and began to talk about us. We didn't know each other but ended up eating breakfast with our mothers and consequently one another. For the most part, we just sat at the table while our mothers conversed. When the school year began we occasionally saw one another in passing, since we both lived in the Warren dorms, however, we never talked.

Finally during our sophomore year, we both became active members of the Catholic community at UCSD, and served as student ministers together. We got to know each other much better and spent a little time together. We were also in the same organic chemistry lecture and Michelle borrowed my chemistry lab notebook from the previous quarter.

Both of us spent our junior year abroad, with Michelle in Galway, Ireland, and Andrew in Copenhagen, Denmark. We were able to make the most of our time in Europe, and went on trips together during the school breaks. In January 2000, we were in Interlaken, Switzerland, and Andrew proposed over a pot of fondue.

We both graduated in 2001, and got married at All Hallows Catholic Church at the top of Mt. Soledad on August 4, 2001. We have been married for nearly 5 happy years now. Michelle is pursuing a Ph.D. in cell biology at Duke, and after obtaining a master’s in theology and a master’s in anthropology, Andrew now works at a church in Chapel Hill, NC, as director of liturgy and the catechumenate.

Angie Garcia, Revelle ’01, and Hugo Garcia, Warren ‘02
We were both in the same political science class (Poli Sci 13) with Alan Houston in fall quarter 1999. One day in discussion, he was sitting behind me, and I heard him ask a guy if he had missed anything important during lecture. The guy said no, but I remembered our paper assignment was passed out. So I turned around and told him the assignment. He asked to see the handout, and graciously thanked me. As for that other guy—what an idiot—he must have missed lecture too! I must have caught Hugo's attention because immediately after class, he approached me, and in a very gentleman-like manner properly introduced himself and shook my hand. He walked with me a bit as I was on my way to work (on campus) and we talked about the basics—our majors, where we lived, etc.—and found we had a lot in common. I actually remembered seeing Hugo in class before during lecture because he was the one who sat in the first row and always raised his hand to answer questions/make comments. The professor, Dr. Houston, even knew him by name. So my first impression of him was he was a dorky nerd. But he actually turned out to be just a really smart guy, who is very funny, and outgoing. Since then, he began to sit next to me in class (towards the back!) and we studied for exams together. He was the type of guy who never did any of the assigned reading and still wrote excellent papers. I was so jealous because I read every single page of every single book and we both ended up with the same grade! After the class ended, our friendship grew stronger and it turned into a serious relationship.

Since graduating from UCSD, we have been very involved with the L.A. chapter of the UCSD Alumni Association. We have even attended UCSD basketball games when they're in the L.A. area (against CSULA or Dominguez Hills). We loved UCSD so much that we decided to get married on campus on August 1, 2004. We had our ceremony and reception at the Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club. It was amazing. The ceremony in the inside courtyard was beautiful, the food was fabulous, and everyone loved it! We were so happy to be able to take our wedding pictures around campus and reminisce about the time we met. Those memories will last a lifetime. We always try to stop by campus whenever we are visiting San Diego just to see how the campus has changed—it's just amazing. We are both so happy to have been a part of such a great university, and so lucky that we met each other. Thanks Alan Houston, for Poli Sci 13!

Jennifer Armstrong-Wells, Warren ’96, and Jason Wells, Muir ‘95
My name is Jennifer Armstrong-Wells and my husband is Jason Wells. We have been married almost 12 years and met at UCSD. We initially met at Sun God in 1992 through mutual friends as freshmen. Specifically, Jason had a Sun God party in his Muir dorm room and I helped him clean up everything after everyone left. We didn't start to date until the end of our sophomore year, although we did spend a lot of time together through our mutual friends (Jason was a Sigma Nu, and I was a founder of Alpha Chi Omega, and our fraternities had a core group of friends who did everything together).

We did the usual college student things, nothing too exciting but it sort of old-fashioned. I was double major in bio-anthropology and archaeology, and Jason majored in QEDS (I think it is quantitative economics now). Jason gave me his fraternity pin on New Year's Eve 1993, and proposed to me at the Sigma Nu formal in Palm Springs in May 1994. We were married on December 17, 1994, during winter break, as we were both seniors at that time. The wedding was great since all of our friends from college were there, so it was one big party.

Jason graduated with high honors in June 1995 and began working at Encad as a business analyst (he had also done an internship there during college). At that time, I decided to apply to medical school, so I stayed another year at UCSD to finish my pre-med requirements. I graduated cum laude and with honors in bio-anthropology. I worked at UCSD in the Upward Bound program as a physics instructor after graduation, and also ran the Osteoporosis Prevention Program at UCSD SOM in conjunction with the San Diego Unified School District with the late Dr. David Sartoris.

I also took that year after graduation to do my medical school applications. We had to coordinate where I would go to school with Jason's work, as he wanted to pursue his goal of working in investment banking. In the summer of 1997 we moved to San Francisco and I started medical school at UCSF. Jason began working at what was then known as Montgomery Securities as a research associate in technology. In 2001, Jason left investment banking and worked for a hedge fund firm in San Francisco, still covering technology.

During medical school, I did a joint program at UC Berkeley to get my MPH (2001). I was inducted in the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and graduated from medical school in 2002. I did my pediatrics residency at UCSF and am currently finishing my fellowship training in child neurology at UCSF.

During this time, besides working so hard, we had a beautiful daughter named Amelia. She is now 4 1/2 years old and our greatest accomplishment. Jason has also recently started his own hedge fund. Most of all, Jason had been a tremendous source of support during my medical school and residency, a time that is especially stressful on marriages. I could not have done it without him.

Mike Houston, Marshall ’01, and Tina Wang, Muir ‘01
Mike and I had mutual friends at UCSD. Through Kevin Lau, we met in CS20 back in winter quarter 1998. However, it was not until the summer of 1999 when our relationship developed. During that summer, we had one class together. Mike was rooming with Kevin, his high school friend, at the time. Since I was also taking one other class, in which Kevin was in, I was over at their place everyday, either studying with Mike for one class or with Kevin for the other class. All of us would do stuff together. However, eventually, it was just Mike and me.

During senior year, Mike was accepted into graduate school in computer science at both UCSD and Stanford. We talked about which program suited Mike the best. At the end, Mike chose to attend Stanford University. However, at the time, I was already working and had a full-time offer at a wireless startup company in San Diego; I had planned to stay in San Diego.

After graduation, Mike went on a trip with his father for a couple of weeks. It was then that I realized I truly loved him and wanted to be with him. Since I didn't have any job offers in the Bay Area and didn't want to just sit around, I started looking into some of the Bay Area's graduate programs that had late application filing dates. I eventually applied to Santa Clara's engineering program and was admitted.

In September 2001, Mike and I moved up to the Bay Area. Mike is currently finishing up his Ph.D. in computer science. Meanwhile, I have finished my master’s degree and have worked for a couple of companies before heading back to school. I am currently pursuing a degree in law. We will both be finished with school (hopefully) by 2007.

Last Christmas, Mike and I finally went back to San Diego to visit Kevin, UCSD, and the places we had enjoyed. Visiting the campus brought back a lot of fond memories. We took pictures of Library Walk, Price Center, the new EBU buildings, and of course, our colleges!

When we arrived at HSS, where we first fell in love, the most amazing thing happened—Mike proposed in front of the building! Of course when he called out for me, I hadn't realized what was going on since I was still holding the camera and taking pictures of the surrounding area. When I finally looked up, he was on one knee and was holding the ring! Mike proposed and I said yes.

That day will always be memorable, especially since we also got a parking ticket on campus that day. When we first entered the campus, we saw a sign for free parking for December 23-25. We didn't realize that when we parked, that that day was actually the 22nd. We still have the parking ticket and it will be framed for the memories!

Mike and I got married on August 26, 2006, at the Stanford Memorial Church.

Bob Carlin, Warren ’83, and Evlyn Platt, Muir ‘83
My name is Bob Carlin, and I met my lovely wife, Evlyn Platt, while attending UCSD. We got married in 1984 and are now proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands our home. I was a founding member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity where I met Evlyn, who was the president of the "little sisters" organization. We've been inseparable ever since. We both had two decades of experience running successful businesses in San Diego. Evlyn was a clinical psychologist, and I had a design/draft/build company. We look back on our time in San Diego with great fondness, especially our time at UCSD, and where we had the opportunity to "spread our wings" when the area still had that little, big town atmosphere.

Two years ago, we realized a dream we had been planning for 10 years. We packed our bags and headed off to paradise—the US Virgin Islands.

Of our years at UCSD, our best memories are of Walk's Pub, rallies at "the plaza," and slow strolls through the eucalyptus groves where you could almost get lost while watching the butterflies.

Matthew Cronin, Muir ’99, M.D. ’06, and Patti Orozco, Revelle ‘99
I met him on the bus that the Student Affirmative Action Committee (SAAC, which I don't think exists anymore, but it was a committee that reported to Vice Chancellor Joseph Watson) had chartered for the weekend. We were going on a mountain retreat to talk about bridging the gap between different cultural and ethnic student organizations. I was one of the Women's Resource Center representatives but we had reps from all of the student groups that participated on the committee: BSU (Black Student Union), MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan), APSA (Asian Pacific Student Alliance), LGA (Lesbian and Gay Association) and the WRC (Women’s Resource Center). The Guardian had sent their editorial columnist to cover the weekend activities. His name was Matthew Cronin and we spent the majority of the bus ride talking about Thoreau's “Walden Pond” and other great books. I was reading some great works at Revelle and although I was registered as a biology major at the time, my interests were moving toward the social sciences, which we engaged in during our long weekend discussions.

Long story short, that was Friday, January 25, 1985 and over the course of the weekend, among the politics of race that were being discussed and played out between the SAAC members, an interesting thing happened between Matt and I that continues to this day.

I have been involved with clinical research and trials for nearly 16 years now. I have developed and led clinical operation teams at several biotech companies and find a great source of satisfaction in the management of teams conducting complex trials. Matthew is the managing editor at Inside Tennis magazine, sportscasts on webradio at the French and US Opens, contributes to several tennis outlets including the Grand Slam websites and he is cofounder of www.tennisreporters.net. We are still engaged by politics and social structures, but mostly, we are engaged by each other and our three wonderful children.

Michelle Silverman Taylor, Warren ’91, and Jorge Taylor, Warren’90
My husband Jorge Taylor and I met at UCSD in 1986. We were 18-year-old freshmen, and in our very first month at Warren College when we started dating. We have now been married 13 years and have two kids together.

Maria Andujo Hanger, Ph.D. ’93, and Philip A. Hanger
My husband and I met at UCSD in 1990, have been married 16 years, have a five-year old son, Andrew, and two adult daughters (my step-daughters), Emily and Vicki.

My husband, Philip A. Hanger, Ph.D., completed the final three years of his clinical psychology training, which included his internship and post-doctoral training, through the UCSD Department of Psychiatry at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. At that time in 1990, I was a graduate student in the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in clinical psychology. We met at a campus water fountain, and had our first date at Wendy's in the Price Center (we were poor graduates students and could not afford anything fancy!).

Philip is now the assistant deputy director of mental health for San Diego County, in the Forensics and Strategic Planning Division. I am the associate director of San Diego State University's Counseling and Psychological Services.

Mitch Maler, Warren '84, and Nancy Curtis Maler, Muir '84
My wife Nancy and I met at a church college group in 1981 when she was a freshman at UCSD and I was transferring to UCSD from San Diego State. We attended UCSD together until we graduated in the spring of 1984. Since Nancy was a history major and I was a history minor, we took a lot of the same classes and spent a lot of time studying (each other) together.

Our study sessions would usually took place at the SIO library or the 4th floor of the Central Library. We eventually abandoned our sessions at SIO because we wouldn't get much studying done, as we were prone to taking long walks on the beach.

One of our favorite memories of taking classes together is when we took an Italian history course with Professor H. Stuart Hughes. Professor Hughes was one of our all-time favorite professors and an absolute joy to talk to. One morning, he was passing back our midterm blue books. Nancy wasn't in class, so I asked Professor Hughes if I could get Nancy's blue book. Knowing that we were dating, he agreed, but said with a big smile and a twinkle in his eye, "Mitch, you didn't do quite as well as Nancy." I told him that really wasn't a big surprise. We all had a nice laugh.

Nancy and I have been happily married for nearly 21 years. We have two wonderful boys and love to show them the campus and tell them about our happy memories of UCSD.

Ryan Drenan, Revelle ’00, and Briana Farrand Drenan, ERC ‘00
My wife, Briana Farrand Drenan, and I met in 1998 during our third year at UCSD. We were both cognitive science majors and met in one of the many classes we had together. My wife was looking for someone to help her with her homework and thought I looked smart, as she says, so she asked me to study with her. We dated for a while, then got engaged in February of 2000. We got married in Santa Barbara in May of 2001 and just celebrated our 5-year anniversary last week. Briana graduated with her major in cognitive science with a specialization in neuroscience, and I graduated with a double major in cognitive science and biology. We moved to St. Louis in July of 2001 to attend graduate school. Briana earned her master’s in occupational therapy from Washington University in 2003, and I graduated with my Ph.D. in molecular cell biology from the same university in January 2006. Most importantly, we welcomed our first child, Dylan, on July 7, 2005. We now live in Pasadena, Calif., where Briana is working as an occupational therapist, and I am a postdoctoral scholar at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the Division of Biology. I am researching nicotine addiction.

Ryan Woodman, Warren ’05, and Mara Evans, Warren ‘05
My boyfriend, Ryan Woodman, and I met in Sept. 2001 and we're still together one year after graduating in 2005.

Freshmen during welcome week are bound to do and try just about anything. Nowhere else would I have been caught dead square dancing, but the idea of two-stepping with other giddy, equally embarrassed freshmen sounded like a good way to start my college career. Who was I kidding? I wanted to meet some boys!

Five years later it all seems like a blur. Ryan and I were in the same group of couples, but we were not each other’s partner. Nevertheless, when it came time for the eight of us to mix and “swing our partners” I looked forward to dozy-doing by him. He lived in Harlan Hall and I lived in Stewart, and over the course of the week we came to know each other pretty well. By the end of September, I turned to Ryan and asked, “So when are you going to take me on a date?”

Over the course of the next four years we stuck together. We helped each other find the right majors and sat through some brutal chemistry lectures. Ryan taught me how to drive and waited anxiously as I took my driving test. I’ve encouraged his desire to become a doctor and study fitness and exercise. Ryan has put up with me leaving him for months on end to visit my family in Nairobi, Kenya, and later in Mexico. Ryan attended almost all the movies I covered as a UCSD Guardian reporter and would frequently be found at my home for many years: the UCSD International House.

Today, one year after our graduation, we both have research positions at the Naval Medical Center here in San Diego. Ryan is preparing for a summer research fellowship in Prague. He has set his sights on medical school. This summer I will finish my work in heart failure research and in the fall I will start my Ph.D. in ecology at UC Davis.

I’m sure crazier things have happened during Warren College’s welcome week, but that night of square dancing is still with me many years later.


Lori Lennon Bassman, Revelle ’81, and Harley Bassman, Muir ‘81
My husband and I met at freshman orientation for Revelle College in 1977. He was “Handy Harley” and I was “Lucky Lori” in the “name game.” Corny, I know, but it has stood the test of time.

Harley went on to get a MBA at the University of Chicago, and I continued on to UCLA’s School of Medicine. Harley is now a managing director at Merrill Lynch, and I am a non-practicing psychiatrist, full-time mother of 4. We have lived in New York City for the last 20 years but still visit San Diego frequently. We both have very fond memories of UCSD, and are thankful for the terrific education which we received. Our oldest daughter, Lindsay, who is a junior at the Chapin School, toured UCSD this fall and loved it. Could this be the harbinger of another great romance?!

Amy Holmes Davis, Marshall ’98, and Paul Davis, Marshall ‘98
My husband Paul and I met the very first day of school (technically move-in day) in September of 1994. My parents and I had just said our good-byes, and then within the hour, I met Paul at the Thurgood Marshall dorms. His roommate went to high school with one of my suitemates, so my husband, his roommate and a couple of suitemates decided to come up to my suite to meet the girls his roommate's friend was going to live with for the year. We hit it off (almost) instantly and he quickly became my best friend at UCSD. However, I had a boyfriend at home and kept telling myself I just liked Paul as a friend. By spring quarter I realized that there was something more there, so I broke up with my boyfriend at home and Paul and I started to date shortly thereafter (April 22, 1995). We were inseparable :). We both lived in the Thurgood Marshall upper apartments our second year and as luck would have it, I ended up in the apartment above his. We moved in together our junior year and got engaged within a few months. For those that knew us, this didn't come as too much of a surprise but it’s still a bit unusual these days to get engaged at 20 and 21! We decided on a relatively long engagement since we wanted to graduate before getting married, so a September 1998 wedding date was in the works. We graduated a quarter early in 1998, moved back to the Bay Area (we grew up just 20 minutes from one another) and focused on the wedding. We got married as planned on September 5, 1998, with plenty of UCSD friends cheering us on.

Since then we have both gone to law school at UC Hastings; we went "back to back" – I went first graduating in 2002, and then Paul went, graduating in May 2005. We are now both lawyers practicing in Silicon Valley. However our biggest news is that we just welcomed our first child, Anna, into the world on March 14, 2006. She is a joy!

We are so grateful for our UCSD experience! Our lives certainly wouldn't have been the same if we hadn't both made the decision to attend UCSD/ Thurgood Marshall. We love UCSD and are planning our first family vacation with Anna this summer and have decided to go to San Diego, in part, to show her where her parents first met. :)


Elisabeth Eva Frausto, Warren ’02, TEP ‘03, and Joseluis, Marshall ‘01
I met my husband, Joseluis, through mutual friends in the Science & Engineering Library on March 2, 1999, when we were both undergraduates. We spent most of the rest of that day together talking, and when he dropped me off at my car in East Parking, he asked me out on a date. Our first date (March 5, 1999) began and ended in another parking lot at UCSD, where we met before having dinner in La Jolla. UCSD was a huge part of our relationship, and was very important to both of us even after we graduated. After nearly five years together, Joseluis took me for a long walk around the campus (as we sometimes did) on February 29, 2004, and afterwards in "our" parking lot at UCSD, he proposed. We were married in San Diego on March 5, 2005, the 6th anniversary of our first date. We live and work in San Diego, and UCSD will always be special to both of us for many reasons.

Heidi Silvia Fisher, Revelle ’00, M.S. ’01, and Caleb Fisher, Revelle ’00, M.S. ‘01
Both of us were on the crew team since the fall of my freshman year, but we didn't actually meet until spring break, which for rowers is known as "spring row" —and not a break at all. I was a first year novice rower, and he was a sophomore on the men's varsity team. I can't say it was love at first sight, but it soon grew into that and we stayed together for next 3 1/2 years. After all, it's hard to find a boyfriend or girlfriend that understands that you need to be in bed by 9 because you have practice at 5am the next morning, even on Saturdays. The weekend after graduation (Caleb took 5 years so we graduated together), we were married. Next month will be our 6 year anniversary and I we now have a 7 week old daughter. We currently live in the Boston area, but we will certainly take our daughter, Edie, to UCSD when she starts looking for schools.

Myla Rugge, Warren ’97, and Rob Rugge, Warren ‘98
We met in September of 1994 when Rob moved into Stewart Hall. I was a sophomore and he was a freshman. I was his RA. Now, it isn't as scandalous as it sounds. :) We didn't date until the very end of the school year. In fact, our first date was on June 1st. We have been together ever since.

I graduated from UCSD in 1997 with a B.A. in Communica-tion and moved to Los Angeles where I worked in the film and television industry. Rob graduated in 1998 with a B.A. in Visual Arts – Digital Media and moved to Seattle to work for Microsoft. In 1999, I moved to join him in Seattle. I completed my master’s degree in communication at the University of Washington in 2003, and we were married in the same year. Rob is still working for Microsoft and I am an academic counselor at UW.

We loved our time at UCSD, and we have many special memories from our time there.

Stephanie Stephens Davison, Third/Marshall ’89, and Christopher Davison, Muir ‘92
Timeline: August 1988
Michael Dukakis and Senator Lloyd Bentsen were making a bid for the White House and Bentsen came to campus on the stump. I remember the day perfectly because it was the day that I also met my future husband out on the Muir Commons. The air was heavily charged that day and I remember thinking, even then, that this would be a day I would always remember; there were security forces on the rooftops all around and crowds were gathering to hear the Senator speak. Even so, I decided I would make way to the front of the crowd and shake Bentsen’s hand and introduce myself. It was a thrill, and I became a lifelong democrat!
I was a an anthropology student at Third College, and on that fateful day I was enjoying my lunch and people watching (as anthropology students do), when at a nearby broken table my future husband, Chris Davison, a Muir political science student, sat down for lunch and nearly lost his food over his shoulder as the bench beneath him failed. I invited (rescued) him to join me, and after a brief chat about politics—that’s not my typical conversation starter, but due to the events of the day, it seemed apropos!—we then walked over to the rally where Lloyd Bentsen was speaking.
I wanted to see Chris again, so in a wild leap of faith, I asked him out to a play on campus. I had never asked a guy out before, so I gave him a fake name! What a goof! The season at the playhouse didn’t open for another two months; when it did finally open, he went to every play with me that season. The rest is, as they say, history.
We were married in July of 1991 at the Hotel Del Coronado by a friend and fellow student who was studying for his doctorate in seminary at UCSD. George Williams and Chris had worked together shining the ballroom floors in the Price Center as students! Nine years later, Chris and I had our son, Curran, now starting kindergarten this fall. We have been happily married for 15 years. We now reside in Redmond, Washington, both working for non-profit foundations.

Britt Raubenheimer, SIO ’96, and Steve Elgar, SIO ‘85
We met in 1992 when Britt was a graduate student at Scripps, and Steve, a graduate from UCSD-Scripps, was visiting UCSD for a few months. Within a few months of meeting and falling in love, we had embarked on a half-year long journey to Spain, where we worked in Valencia. It was a little risky, but things worked out fine, and for the last 14 years we have been inseparable.

We shared a desk in Spain, and then shared an office at Washington State University, UCSD, and recently at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where we are scientists.

We were married on the Scripps pier, and we believe it was the only wedding conducted on the pier. Of course, it was not an official wedding, but rather a meeting of field technicians, students, technicians, and scientists during a large ocean field experiment. As long as we were all meeting on the pier, we decided we may as well get married ... (no weddings are allowed on the pier, but both of us are good pals with the Wayne Pawlelek, who was in charge of the Scripps SCUBA diving program, he made somewhat of an exception for us, since we have been associated with UCSD since 1980. We have an office at Scripps, and Steve retains a research position at UCSD).

We have many stories, ranging from drifted-in broken boats while SCUBA diving at Scripps, to a trip to Antarctica on a Latvian research ship, to learning how to ski in northern Idaho despite Britt's recent loss of vision (she is blind now). I have a few cool photos of us in our orange vests that say “blind skier” and “guide” flying down steep ski runs in northern Idaho with me screaming “right-left-right-left...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stop.” Britt has more courage than imaginable (and I have never heard her complain despite suddenly loosing her vision a few years ago).

Joan Baldwin Clabby, Revelle ‘83, and Bill Clabby, Revelle ‘84
The first time I saw my future husband was during the Welcome Week slide show at Revelle College, 1979. He had green face paint, large green glasses, and a green trench coat that opened to reveal a red lining with black polka dots. We were told this was the previous year's Watermelon Queen, Bill Clabby.

My mom had wisely advised me to look for the BMOC—the Big Man on Campus—and with no quarterback in sight, the Watermelon Queen looked like the next best way to get connected on campus. The following day someone pointed him out to me (without the green face paint) and that night he was carried out onto the Revelle Quad in a lifeguard chair dressed as "Captain Fun." I knew I had my man.

Lynda Craven, Revelle ’91, and David Jeffrey Craven, Revelle ‘91
My husband and I met on campus during our second year as Revelle students. We graduated in 1991 and currently live in Phoenix, Arizona, and have two daughters.
Like I mentioned, we were both Revelle students, and though you would think we would have met in one of the Humanities courses that all Revelle students were required to take, we actually met at an Argo Hall dance.
I had joined the Triton yearbook staff my freshman year to find something to do other than academics, and I became the editor for the Revelle campus portion of the yearbook. Jeff had signed up with the photo staff and was one of the few photographers randomly assigned to cover and take photographs of campus activities. I lived on campus and he commuted, so normally our paths may not have crossed at all.
As luck would have it, we both happened to be at the Argo Pit at one of the Argo Hall dances that the campus puts on. I noticed him with his camera and yearbook photo staff badge, so I introduced myself as part of the yearbook staff. And after the official business of covering the events of the night was done, we spent most of the wee hours of the night chatting in the Argo Hall 3rd floor lounge, along with some of the yearbook staff members. I have never laughed so much and we had so much to talk about. We really felt a bond and shortly thereafter my small staff of 5 Revelle students and Jeff became good friends and we hung out together at the other campus activities during our years at UCSD.
Our first “date” was the Revelle semiformal dance. It started out as a group thing; a total of 8 of us were planning to attend. But slowly, one by one, our other friends backed out and we ended up with a twosome, or a double date. Jeff and his good friend, Matt (one of his best men at our wedding), and Diana and I were the last 4 of the original 8. The guys wowed us with a delicious home-cooked dinner and the presentation was definitely impressive. Instead of getting food at the dance, we spent a wonderful evening having dinner and getting to know each other a little better. We did eventually make it to the dance that night, but I was definitely not disappointed by the dinner and conversation earlier in the day.
Still nothing serious at this point, but over the years at UCSD, we found that special something in each other. Maybe it was his ability to make me smile and laugh and have a good time by just hanging out. It was probably the way I felt comfortable talking to him about the pitfalls and challenges I felt at college. It was definitely the way he made me feel like I was the only one in the room when he talked to me in a crowded student lounge. The yearbook brought us together in the beginning. And whenever I get the chance, I look back at the work we did together in that project, with his photos and my layout and editing, I can’t help but remember the great time we had together at UCSD.
At our UCSD graduation party, we announced our engagement, and two years later, after he finished with law school and took the California Bar Exam, we became Mr. and Mrs. David Jeffrey Craven.

Jay Lee Kelley, Marshall ’98, and Carrie Kelley, Muir ‘96
My fiancé and I are both UCSD alumni, all but 2 members of the wedding party were UCSD alumni, and many of the guests were UCSD alumni. I proposed at the UCSD glider port, and the wedding was across the street from the UCSD campus at the Estancia. We met at UCSD, but only started dating a few years after graduation. Our wedding was on June 3, 2006.

Lizette Rha, Muir’00, and Andy Livingston, Warren ‘01
Lizette Rha is a licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles, California. She graduated with an MSW from SDSU in 2002. She is engaged to be married to fellow UCSD alumnus Andrew Livingston, who is currently a chef. They met when they were both members of UCSD's DJs and Vinylphiles Club. They are getting married on April 7, 2007, in a beautiful Japanese Garden in Van Nuys, and then the reception afterwards is at a garden ranch. We've been together since meeting at UCSD, so it's been about 8 years.

Lawrence Raful, Muir ’72, and Dinah Maurer, Muir ‘72
I met Dinah Maurer in the fall of 1968, our freshmen year, at the Mathews dorms. I look back now and realize that I fell in love with her the moment I first met her, but at the time we were just good friends. She was dating a guy from home (LA) and I had broken up with my high school girlfriend from Colorado. As a matter of fact, when Dinah's boyfriend came to visit her that first year, I invited him to stay that weekend in our dorm room, and I even went out to dinner with the two of them and paid for the pizza! In the spring of that first year, I mentioned to her that I was going to annual San Diego auto show, and she wondered why anyone would do that, since she had never been to a car show before and had some preconceived notions about what it was about. I invited my "friend" to join me, and we went to the car show together—which she enjoyed—and then, on a lovely, slightly foggy night, we took the old ferry across to Coronado, and as we walked around the Del Coronado in the moonlight, and (I think) we fell in love. That night, we stayed up and talked until the early morning hours.

I freely admit, even in these days of political correctness, that I was first attracted to her because of her smile, her long hair, short skirts and great legs (which, after three daughters, she still has). We dated after that night and got married in September of 1971, just before our senior year. A number of UCSD students and staff attended our wedding, including our dear friend Professor Patrick Ledden, now a blessed memory. This fall, we will be married for 35 years, and we owe it to UCSD.

Her Version:
Dinah Raful, Muir ‘72
On a beautiful fall evening, on Matthews Campus, at UCSD, in October, 1968, my roommate said to me, "Why don't you come with me to meet my new boyfriend's roommate? He's really cute." I walked over to the two-story suite and a guy came to the door of his room...a big guy, with a torn gray West Virginia T-shirt, with a mop of curly hair and a huge smile. And he said, "Hi, I'm Larry." Maybe that's when I fell in love…I don't know. He just immediately became the "big brother I never had." There were many nights that we walked the paths of Muir College, sharing our thoughts and dreams. He played the guitar for me and introduced me to his favorite songs. I wrote home to my parents saying, "I met this guy, he's like a big brother and he's so nice." I never remembered feeling so comfortable in my life with some guy. After doing terribly in my classes fall quarter — much to my surprise — he made a poster for me. It was priceless. He scribbled on the top, "LIFE" and attached an Elmer Fudd figurine, a Talmudic story, a Snoopy cartoon which all focused on "What else did I want to get out of college besides classes?" I should have realized then that I would marry someone who sees life as precious and had the understanding, even as an 18-year old, of how to live life to the fullest! With three beautiful daughters and celebrating 38 years together, how fortunate and lucky are we!

Katy Simpson, Warren ’90, and Richard Simpson, Warren ‘90
My husband and I met while living at the Warren Apartments on the third day of school our freshman year at UCSD in September of 1986. We began dating 3 weeks later and have been together ever since. We got engaged after graduating in 1990 and we were married in 1992. We now have 4 children ages 10, 8, 5 and 1.

Erin Johnson Shade, Warren ’93, and Jonathan Shade, Warren ‘93
Jonathan Shade and I met during fall quarter in 1989. He was studying computer science and I was studying biology. We were both sophomores living in the Warren College apartments. He and his roommates shared the first floor apartment right in front where the loading zone was; my roommates and I had the same apartment on the 5th floor. He knew a couple of my roommates from freshman year but I had never met him. According to his story, he and his roommates had "seen me around" and wondered if they could get me on their innertube water polo team. Jonathan knocked on our apartment door one evening and my roommate answered. He knew her and he asked if she was interested in joining their team. She said no but asked if anyone else was interested, and I enthusiastically joined. They didn't know that I had played water polo in high school, but that fact made their plan work like a charm.

Not long after I joined the team, Jonathan asked me out on a date. He was disappointed when I said I just wanted to be friends, but eventually we became best friends. We spent many hours together, playing and studying. I loved that Jonathan could help me with calculus and physics. The following school year, when we were juniors and both lived off campus: he in Solana Beach and me in Del Mar. I worried that our new physical distance would create distance in our relationship and I found myself wanting to spend more and more time with him. We did spend a lot of time together and by November I came to the shocking conclusion that I was in love with him. When I shared this with him, he confirmed the feeling was mutual. It was mostly a shock to me; my roommate couldn't believe how long it took me to figure what had been happening between Jonathan and me; she had known for a long time.

Jonathan proposed to me in Hawaii in 1991 while we were on a vacation that I had won; what a great trip that was! We were married July 17, 1993, in Carmel Valley, Calif., with many UCSD friends as guests and some were in the wedding party. One of his sophomore year roommates was the best man and another was a groomsman; my three roommates from sophomore year were all bridesmaids. Jonathan had graduated from UCSD in June 1993 and then I graduated later that year in December. As newlyweds in 1994, we moved to Seattle for Jonathan to earn his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Washington. Although the transition from San Diego to Seattle was initially tough, we now love living in Seattle. It's hard to believe that in July 2006, we'll have been married for 13 years. It's equally hard to believe that we have been living in Seattle for 12 years. Despite the fact that they are all in California, my best friends are still the roommates I had that sophomore year when I met Jonathan. UCSD was an amazing place and I had some of the best times of my life there, especially that magical sophomore year during which I met my best friends and the love of my life.

Dave Ford, Warren ’90, and Diana Scandura, Revelle ‘90
Since they were both math majors and they attended the same church, David Ford and Diane Scandura met in the fall of 1987. They became good friends, helping each other in various classes, but there was no romantic interest at all.

In the summer of 1990, after they had both graduated and moved up to the Los Angeles area for their careers, they got back in touch. After going out casually a few times in the fall of 1990, they realized they were destined for each other. (Actually, Dave realized it first, and it took a few months of romance to convince Diane). They began dating “exclusively” in February 1991. (I guess we had to “mature” for a while before we were ready for each other.) By this time, Diane was already preparing to start her master’s degree in math at Cal State University, Long Beach.

After a year of dating, Dave proposed to Diane on the Queen Mary in front of several hundred cheering people by singing a love song (“Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke) and saying that it would truly be a wonderful world if she would become his bride. (The crowd went wild.)

They married in August of 1992, and they even teach classes on marriage. They have two beautiful daughters (6 and 8 years old).

Dave is still programming computers for a living (his career passion), and Diane teaches math part-time at a local community college (while their daughters are in school).

They're DEEPLY indebted to the great friends they gained at UCSD, and the experience they had at UCSD has left an indelible mark on their innermost being.

Stephanie Collins, Warren ’94, and Jim Hant, Muir ‘93
My husband, Jim Hant, and I met while at UCSD in 1991. We don't have much of a story other than that we met through the Greek system, dated briefly my freshman year, were "friends" off and on throughout college, and then started dating again in spring 1994, right before I graduated. We both moved to LA for grad school at UCLA — I went to law school and he got a Ph.D. in engineering. We got married in 1999, and we now have two kids, Benjamin (2 1/2) and Sydney (1). We live in Manhattan Beach, but we are considering moving back to San Diego in the near future.

Dave Tomlinson, Revelle ’95, and Lisa Remedios, Revelle ‘94
My wife Lisa and I met the first day of our freshman year — on the rails of the Argo Hall dorms in 1990. She was a Revelle biology major and I was a Revelle Lit/Writing major, and the one thing we had in common was that we both worked at the cafeteria.

We recently celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and have 2 girls, aged 5 and 3. She has since graduated from medical school (in Minnesota) and we now live in Dallas, Texas, where she is finishing her third year of a four-year residency in OB/GYN at Parkland Hospital. I work for a software company here doing product marketing and user interface design.

Debra Quick-Jones, Warren ’81, and Don Jones, Muir ’81
My husband and I met in '79 in Professor Mike Gilpin's population biology class, otherwise known to us as "Mikey." We met mid term when I moved 3 rows forward to escape an annoying person in the back row. I captured my husband-to-be's attention from the cute redhead sitting by him. Guess it was ok, as we are celebrating our 20th anniversary in October!

Darryl Evora, Revelle ’86, and Kami Larsen Evora, Warren ’84
It was the second Friday in January, 1982, and the new quarter at UCSD had begun exactly five days before. A celebration of the end of the first week of second quarter seemed in order and my best friend, Joan Madonna, had volunteered her Mesa off-campus apartment for a party. Joan, her roommate Ginny, Amy Bastien and I planned a low-key party at Joan’s apartment.

At about 7:00, Joan’s neighbor, Peter came over for an early beer. He was a real psychedelic kind of guy, about fifteen years older than the rest of us. He brought with him his brand-new roommate, Darryl Evora. Darryl had arrived that very day from Honolulu, Hawaii. Darryl believed, for some reason, that the second semester was going to begin on the following Monday, January 20. In fact, Darryl had already missed the first week of classes. He was a dark, good-looking guy who did not seem terribly stressed by the fact that his class registration was less than complete and he’d missed the first week of classes. He was transferring into UCSD after having done three years at University of Hawaii and a year at Seattle University (making him a 5th -year Revelle student).

I was intrigued. I was a third year Warren student (a junior) who had also transferred. Darryl stayed exactly 40 minutes at our party and then said his brother’s former girlfriend (also from Hawaii) was taking him out to dinner in Tijuana for his birthday (which was two days later). “Bummer, he’s taken,” I thought. I was wrong.

A few weeks after meeting Darryl, I noticed he was in my 150-student communications and culture class. I had also seen him skateboarding around the apartments at Mesa, since he lived right next door to my best friend, Joan. When our comm. culture teacher assigned the movie “Hearts and Minds” as a required viewing (on campus), I took the opportunity to ask Darryl if he needed a ride to the movie since he lived off campus and didn’t have a car. He indicated he had a “hairy” genetics exam to study for and would rush to the movie if he could spare the time. He asked me to save him a seat – just in case.

I arrived early to the movie and saved a center, second row seat for Darryl by putting my jean jacket on the seat. After telling about ten students who desperately hoped to sit in Darryl’s seat that it was indeed saved, the credits on the movie began to roll and I was embarrassed to be holding a second row seat for someone who was not showing. About two minutes into the movie, Darryl came running down the stairs and joined me.

We started dating shortly after our initial meeting. We shared many happy and fun memories at UCSD. One of the funniest was our disaster “first” date on which we went to see an Indian movie at the Revelle College campus. I lost my glasses in the grass while walking to the movie and we hunted for a half hour before finding them. Then, my seat flipped up as I tried to sit, landing me on the floor at the beginning of the movie. Ultimately, the movie turned out to be horrible, and we were both a little reluctant to say it stunk. We finally left about half way through.

I graduated in 1984 (December) with a communications major and he followed me in 1986 with a degree in Animal Physiology (pre-med). We married in 1988. Darryl’s now a pediatric radiologist at Children’s Hospital, San Diego (he returned to do his residency at UCSD Medical Center in radiology in 1993). I went on to law school at Hastings College (in San Francisco) in 1986 and we now reside in the Scripps Ranch area. We have two kids, Sean (14) and Erin (12) and we constantly stress to both of them that they should get really good grades so they can get into UCSD, because it’s such a great school.

Peter Corrigan, Revelle '88and Karen Bergan, Revelle '88

Milo Aukerman, Muir '86 and Robin Andreasen, Revelle '91

Thank you for the the fun article on campus romances; I'm sure there are many more couplings out there that we don't know about. Two I can think of offhand were friends at the time: Peter Corrigan and Karen Bergan, both Revelle 1988 I think; and Milo Aukerman and Robin Andreasen, both also Revelle students (she became a freshman in 1986, Milo was a few years older and then continued on to grad school at UCSD, I believe). Both couples are now married and living on the east coast. Goodness knows I had my share of potential/temporary couplings as well. Fun memories; the social aspect is what I remember best from my years there.

Thanks again,

Pam Middings, Revelle 1989

William C. Morris, Revelle '72, Ph.D. '98 & Amy Linsk Morris, '73

When I opened your January 2007 issue of @UCSD, I realized I’d never gotten around to sending in my own story of UCSD romance. And since no one featured in your article equals my husband and me for romance longevity, I thought I’d send you this belated synopsis.

Bill and I met on a blind date on Friday the 13th -- February 13, 1970 -- when I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. We were brought together by his friend John Listopad. Revelle '73 and John’s then-fiancee Nancy Ton Revelle '73, who was my neighbor in Blake Hall. Not much thought went into the match-up: I was recruited on half an hour’s notice, I believe after another girl had canceled.

The four of us had an oh-so-romantic dinner at Revelle Cafeteria and then went to a drive-in double feature in John’s 1956 Jaguar touring car. (Bill got to drive; John and Nancy got the back seat.) After we returned to campus, Bill and I wandered and talked for a long time. In keeping with the theme of the day, we walked under a step-ladder and crossed paths with a black cat on Revelle Plaza. Fittingly, our first kiss occurred the next evening, Valentine’s Day.

Bill says he was smitten immediately. I wasn’t so sure; I’m not a person who likes to rush into things. Fortunately for me, he was persistent. We were married on May 12, 1974, and are happier than ever together after nearly 33 years.

We lost contact with both John Listopad and Nancy Ton soon after graduation. So if either of them is out there reading this, we’d just like to send them a huge “Thank you!”

Amy Linsk Morris

San Diego