Sitting in the back of Public Finance class on the first day of grad school, Ellie was impressed by the smart man sitting in the front of the room. The next day, Ellie was walking through the SPEA atrium and noticed the man from class sitting with her friends. He introduced himself as Sam, and they got to talking about football (and their rival teams). Ellie moved up to the front of Finance class, and Sam snuck looks and smiles at Ellie. It was only a month before they became a SPEA couple.

Preferring simple and private, Sam proposed to Ellie over a bowl of miso soup in their kitchen. It suited them perfectly.