During the spring of Katie's first year of college, she signed up to volunteer with Rise Together, a non-profit college access program for first-generation K-12 students that Bryan and his mom started together. Bryan sent Katie a volunteer welcome email and Katie wrote back addressing him as "Mr. Christ". Through the program they became friends.

There was a golf cart, a gator, and no porpoises. While on a beach trip, Bryan and Katie were driving the golf cart to a pier to look for porpoises. As they parked and got out of the cart a 4 foot long gator scuttled across the road. They walked up the pier and as Katie looked for porpoises, Bryan got down on one knee. Afterwards he said, "I proposed on porpoise".