I met Ben during our freshman year orientation at UNC the summer before we started college. The first thing that struck me about Ben is how little he spoke, which is pretty much the opposite of my personality. Several weeks later, we were moving into the same dorm, right across the hall from each other. Once I cracked through his introverted shell, I found a friend who proved to be one of the most kind, authentic, and loving people I've ever met. Not too long after freshman year began, we were taking the P2P from Koury to Carolina Brewery for our first date. That night we laid on the Ehringhaus field and talked for what felt like minutes, but was probably hours. Several years and a couple hundred dates later, we were finishing up our senior year at UNC. Throughout our relationship, Ben was my biggest cheerleader during joyful times, and always by my side to support me during difficult moments. He is the kind of person that makes you want to be better, just by knowing him. We both had our sights on Boston for graduate school and each other for the rest of our lives. On April 6th 2017, I woke up with a cold. I was complaining to Ben all morning about a sore throat. Everyone was strangely concerned about my well-being, and I ended up pushing through the day to attend what I thought was a birthday dinner for one of Megan's friends. Megan picked me up from work but said she forgot the card. We turned into my freshman year dorm and I immediately felt a fluttering in my stomach. I spotted Diane and was told in no uncertain terms to get out of the car. I was sent on a scavenger hunt through all the important places in our lives: where we met, He's Not Here, the Old Well, and Coker Arboretum. At each location, one of our closest friends was waiting, until I go to the last stop, where my parents had a bouquet of roses and my dad walked me down the garden path to meet Ben. Ben got on one knee and asked me to marry him, to which I replied eloquently "duh!"

Kathryn Grace was there at the beginning of the story of my college experience and is now the main character in the story of my life. From my first days at UNC, KG has been a friend. Above all else, she is a warm and kind hearted individual. This was evident from our first interactions during a “speed dating” activity at UNC orientation. Later, our friend groups coalesced and we spent more and more time together. I got to know her humor, intensity, and intelligence. Shortly into freshman year, I nervously asked her to go with me to the only restaurant I had been to in Chapel Hill, at the time. Smitten does not even begin to describe my feelings when she helped me polish off an order of buffalo wings! Flash forward four years and we were thinking about next steps in our lives. She had relentlessly supported me as I pursued my graduate school dreams and I edited who knows-how-many medical school essays for her. I knew we were a perfect match for each other and reached out to our friends and her parents to plan the perfect engagement. A plan was hatched with the help of her sister and maid of honor, Megan. The stage was set, but a perfect storm of illness and work shifts threatened the whole operation. With the help of wedding party members Diane, Mike, and Olivia, all obstacles were overcome! The scavenger hunt styled engagement led KG through many of our fondest memories in Chapel Hill and culminated with her parents leading her through the Coker Arboretum. At the end of the path, I got to tell her how plain amazing she is and ask her the most important question of my life. You all know the answer since you’re reading this!