Sofija began working as a temporary administrative executive in the Smith College IT department in August 2019. Juan joined as a temporary software developer just a couple of weeks later. She welcomed him to the team with an email he appreciated, and they first spoke at a colleague’s ice cream party. Sofija playfully teased Juan about his printed shirt, as she was also wearing a matching dinosaur pin, but he misinterpreted her teasing as mean-spirited.

Not long after they started working together, Sofija and Juan attended a few colleague lunches, followed by a couple of work drinks, and then visited the Springfield art museums. They had their first official date the day after Sofija’s art show when Juan invited her out for Chinese food on November 8th, 2019. Sofija moved in with Juan a couple of weeks before the lockdown, bringing her cat Halsey along with her. They added a COVID kitten named Coyote River to their family later that spring. In 2020, they learned a lot about each other and themselves, and for a few months, they split up. After reuniting, they moved into their Greenfield apartment, which had a great little porch and a long hallway for the cats to run down.

For the past three years, Sofija and Juan have rented a charming little house in Gill. They enjoy enhancing the yard, cozying up with games at home, and have recently added a puppy named Borf to their family. Juan has created and modified many arcades, managed multiple crypto-mining servers, and is always adding to his collection. Meanwhile, Sofija is working on finishing a children’s book collaboration where she is illustrating the story.

Last fall, Juan and Sofija started designing rings together. On February 17th, Sofija proposed to Juan in the Dr. Seuss sculpture park at the Springfield Museums. A couple of months later, Juan proposed to Sofija in the cacti section of the botanical gardens at Smith College. They celebrated that night by eating Chinese food at the same place they did years before. They are thrilled to celebrate their wedding with all of you this November, back where it all started, at Smith College!