In the spring semester of 2017 at UGA, Carina and Jacob were in the same ecology lab by pure chance - both of their advisors made a mistake. Everyone in the class picked their lab partners, and as they got into the UGA vans heading to their first class field trip, Carina and Jacob partnered up. Each week, the class would travel to different places around Athens including streams around campus and the botanical gardens (where Jacob said "this would be a great place to take a girl on a date"). A few weeks into the semester, Carina had a date night coming up for her sorority. She called after Jacob one day, asking if he would go with her. After exchanging phone numbers and going on their first date night, they hit it off immediately, bonding over their shared love of teaching, studying abroad in Italy, and tequila. Jacob asked Carina on their first real date on Valentine's Day, going to a UGA basketball game, Taqueria Tsunami, and then downtown. One point they still can't agree on is which one of them claimed they were "together" when walking into a bar that was giving out wristbands based on relationship status. Jacob asked Carina to be his girlfriend on March 12th, 2017. They've been inseparable since.

While traveling to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with Carina's family, Jacob and Carina took a trip into New York City on November 22nd, 2022. They do this just about every trip up, so Carina didn't think much of it. Little did she know, Jacob had already asked her father for his blessing. The day started out on the train. They walked several miles sight seeing, walking through a few parks, finding the oldest ale house in the city, drinking spicy lattes, and stopping in Little Italy. Each trip, Carina and Jacob go to the Brooklyn Bridge. When they finally made it - after taking a few wrong turns - they took some pictures and enjoyed the sunset. Jacob insisted on a few more pictures with better lighting, and suddenly, he was down on one knee! Carina's first words were "really?!" The (foreign) photographers didn't quite understand their assignment, but they captured the sweet moment nonetheless. The picture was taken in almost the exact same spot they took their first picture on the bridge 5 years earlier. Carina and Jacob enjoyed their little secret over a quiet, candlelit dinner at the oldest tavern in the city before announcing it later that night to their families. They've promised to always visit the Brooklyn Bridge every time they go back to the city.