How We Met
Sam and I both ran for spots on the student senate when we were freshmen at Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. While passing out campaign flyers in the campus cafeteria, I was introduced to Sam and immediately picked up on his warmth and genuine nature (plus he was pretty cute!).
We both got voted in—yay!—and started to get to know each other over weekly senate meetings, discovering that we both lived in Trumbull, CT before Sam moved in elementary school and that our parents both grew up in the same towns. We developed a friendship over the course of freshman year, running into each other at townhouse parties and sharing more about ourselves as time went on.
When sophomore year came around, Sam became the Chair of Student Life while I became the Chair of Academics in Senate—in other words, we started working on campus initiatives together. Over time, in-between tackling topics like printer placements and coffee distribution, they began to realize they had feelings for each other beyond the gavel.
We took it slow throughout that fall semester, but it was very apparent that neither of us was going anywhere anytime soon. Sam asked me to be his girlfriend on October 24, 2011, and one graduation (plus his master’s degree graduation), multiple jobs, three apartments, and a total of 8 years later (soon to be 9), here we are embarking on our next chapter.
How They Asked
In the spring of 2013, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, during which Sam came to visit me for a full week. We explored the majestic city together and all its wonders, eating every carb and gelato in sight and taking in all the historic monuments and art Florence had to offer. Only one word can describe the week-long adventure: magical.
Fast-forward five years, and Sam and I were planning a vacation to revisit the City of Renaissance in November 2018. While I was telling everyone in arms reach about my suspicions that he was going to pop the question (don’t do what I did), Sam was busy planning the perfect proposal. So on November 4, 2018, we flew out of JFK and headed toward the rolling hills of Tuscany—where our lives were about to be forever changed.
On the second day of our trip, Sam suggested walking across the Arno river to a scenic spot called Michelangelo Piazza that overlooked the entire city—a place where Sam and I went the first time we were in Italy together. It was a cloudy day with a chance of rain, but the Duomo looked more beautiful in the distance than ever before, its terracotta dome contrasting against the white sky. After taking in the views, Sam guided me to an elevated church called San Miniato, where an open space exposing the city took our breath away—more than the first one, even.
Sam said we should take a selfie, to which I smiled because I’m definitely the one who is always the one to suggest a selfie. Something is about to happen, I thought. Suddenly, a man emerged and offered to take a photo of the two of us, handing over his green umbrella as it started to drizzle. Sam was overjoyed at the gesture and passed along his phone, and the photographer snapped a single shot of us as we smiled wide. But right after that first photo, Sam turned and said “Actually, I have to ask you something” as he lowered himself down on one knee. I immediately started to lose it, but I listened to every word he said—including that he knew Florence was the perfect place to propose because it’s where our love grew stronger than ever before.
I said yes before he even finished his words. It was the easiest decision both of us ever had to make. He got up and we embraced each other as the man—or the professional photographer Sam hired, sneaky-sneaky—took photos of the entire moment, plus an hour-long photoshoot afterward (which was the dream!). After the photo shoot was completed and the photographer drove away, we were both on cloud nine—with a full Euro trip ahead to celebrate just the two of us. And for the rest of that day, well, we spent it drinking champagne, eating cheese and prosciutto, and being fully in the moment.
