45 Sweet Couples Who Found Love at Binghamton
Since 1946, Binghamton University has been educating minds, generating groundbreaking research, winning awards…..and inspiring true love! In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked alumni couples to share their stories with us—how they met, what made them fall for each other. From sweet study buddies to club members with more than one shared interest, these alumni not only found an education at Binghamton—they found true love!
With great love, comes great responsibility
We actually dated in high school, but, like most high school couples, we stopped seeing each other during the initial college years. Some time passed and eventually, Katie transferred to Bing and we started to reconnect. She wanted help getting to know the campus and where to live. I told her to dorm in CIW because she’ll easily make new friends. At Bing, we would eat together, go to formals and events (shoutout to BAMS!), and eventually we fell in love with each other all over again. Some of our favorite memories are the many nights we spent working late in Bartle Library, motivating each other to finish that last assignment! It’s been over nine years since then and there have been the highs and lows of any relationship. There was a period of long-distance and eventually moving in together. Finally, in 2023, we got married! I thought it would be fun to propose to Katie in the Amazing Spider-Man comic series and she loved it! She thought it was so fun that she decided to reply to the proposal in the comic as well. Now no matter what comic store we go to, you can see our big, dumb, happy faces in the issues of Amazing Spider-Man #922 and #926! Katie and I always look back fondly at our time at Bing.
Derek Garrison-Ng ’15 and Katie Garrison-Ng ’16
Talk about a cutie “pie”
I met my now husband at my sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma’s pie-eating contest philanthropy event. He was the contestant for Sigma Chi. He didn’t win, but he claims the judging was faulty due to the fact Sodexo accidentally gave us full-custard pies instead of whipped cream. We started dating in 2019 and got married this December!
Matt Palazzolo ’20 and Izzie Palazzolo ’20
So much to discus!
We met playing on the club ultimate frisbee team! We spent a lot of time at frisbee events getting to know each other, which eventually turned into date nights at Lost Dog and Garage. We got engaged in July and are currently living and working in Buffalo, N.Y., with our dog, Nibbler.
Alex Bulger ’19 and Katie Bulger ’21, MA
From fencing partners to romantic partners
We met while fencing for the Binghamton fencing team. We fenced two different weapons but felt a clear attraction towards each other. I asked her out for Valentine’s Day and we went to Little Venice. We were married last May. Fast forward to today, Allison just graduated from nursing school and I’m a practice manager for a large veterinary practice in New Jersey. We have been together for almost 10 years and are happier than ever. We give all of the credit to Binghamton for bringing us together.
Isaac Brownstein ’17 and Allison Brownstein ’18
A beautiful mind
Bryana and I met through SA Congress. It’s weird to think a love story started in a Union classroom, but it did. I fell in love seeing her stand up for what she believed in and argue vehemently for it. I fell in love with her mind. We started dating in 2017. After Bing, Bryana went into the service program Teach For America and I began law school. We stayed together through it all, and once I passed the bar exam, there was only one thing that had to happen next. I proposed last spring to my best friend and she said “yes.” Oh, and we have a furry pup named Cooper who has now added to our little family. Getting involved at Binghamton was one of the best decisions we ever made because it helped us find each other!
Michael Wuest ’19 and Bryana Snyder ’18
The sweetest thing
We met on Tinder! It wasn’t creepy back then. We found out we both had late classes on Wednesday, so we said let’s meet up at the Union after. His class got out early, so he ran home, showered and raced back. To his surprise, my class got out early too, so I had to wait for him. We had coffee at the “Starbucks” and talked for an hour. He offered to drive me back to my car because he parked close, and I thought that was the sweetest thing. We were inseparable ever since. Now we have been married for four years, together for eight, and have a beautiful baby boy.
Lucy Yu Murray (Damiani) ’17 and Andrew Damiani ’17
Hinman College Council connection
We both lived in Hinman in our freshman and sophomore years. We met through a mutual friend and got to know each other better when we were on the Hinman College Council. He was academic VP of Smith Hall and I was VP of Lehman Hall. If it weren’t for Hinman College Council, our relationship may not have gotten off the ground. 25 years later, we are happily married and have three beautiful girls – our oldest is a junior at Binghamton.
Joe Terrana ’94 and Julie Terrana ’94
They made beautiful music together
I met Charlie at a party during our last semester of college, which felt too good to be true! Our first date was at The Shop in Downtown Binghamton, where we bonded over our love for music. I am a singer and was a music major back then, and Charlie played guitar. Next thing we knew, we were playing open mics together and posting videos on Instagram of covers and original songs we wrote together. Over five years later, on July 1, 2023, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We are getting married in October of this year, and I cannot wait to share the rest of my life with this random guy I met my senior year of college at a frat party. I feel lucky every day.
Deirdre Shahar ’18 and Charlie Glucksman ’18
Wii, country music and Grey’s Anatomy
Evan and I first met during our junior year at Binghamton. We resided in Hillside. I lived in Nyack, he lived in Rockland. We met at the Hillside volleyball area and my best friend, Arianna (who graduated with us) introduced me to her friends from co-rec football and Evan. We didn’t talk much, but once I moved in with Arianna, Evan and I talked a lot more. We would hang out during game nights with our friends, but mostly we bonded over Wii games (he got eight strikes in a row on Wii bowling and I still won against him in Wii boxing), played 1v1 in field hockey (he thinks he’s better than me, but I know I’m the better player), music (eventually he started listening to country music because of me), and binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy! Evan and I graduated from Binghamton in May 2023, with Evan joining the Army Reserves and in law school at Pace University, while I’m currently working on my nursing degree at Broome! We are still together after almost two years together. Hillside will forever hold a special place in our hearts and we are so thankful our friends brought us together as well as Binghamton!
Bernadette Barbarise ’23 and Evan Stouber ’23
They lived 5 minutes from each other!
We were first introduced to each other at the Union dining hall through mutual friends and later that week ran into each other again at a fraternity party. Our first formal date was at Cortese, when I nervously asked Meagan to take her out for Valentine’s Day and her 21st birthday. It wasn’t until our first date that we learned that we lived only 5 minutes from each other in Staten Island. Ironically, we even had some overlapping friends from Staten Island, but only first met almost 200 miles away in Binghamton! The rest is history. We got married in October 2016 and recently had our first son, Charles, this past year. Binghamton will always have a special place in our hearts, and we still have some very close friends to this day that we met during our time there. We make an effort to revisit the University and the town of Binghamton every few years, and plan to bring our son for the first time later this year.
Meagan Campbell Thompson ’12 and Charles Thompson ’12, MS ’13
Falling in love through finals
I was going to BCC at the time and knew I would be transferring to Binghamton in the spring, so I spent all my free time on the campus. We ended up spending time in the library studying. He helped me with math and finals studying. I fell in love and I told him he better love me too! We married in 2021. We have one pup and we are happy as can be!
Sabrina Duckworth ’18 and Joshua Bukai ’17
Romance-in-the-Woods
We met in the CIW dorms. I was a sophomore, Steven was a junior and we both lived in Seneca. Steven lived in a corner suite with his buddies and I lived with my roommate on a floor with a few other sorority sisters. We met at the beginning of the fall 2012 semester and have been together ever since! After we finished our education at Bing, we continued on to graduate school to become a physical therapist and speech-language pathologist. After years and years of long distance, we finally settled in New Jersey and got married in October 2022!
Steven Keindl ’14 and Danielle Keindl ’15
Lost and found each other
We met at Orientation! We were both lost after signing up for classes in the Union. I came from one direction and Ariel came from another. We tried to help each other out and then we ended up on the same bus back home. We spoke throughout the summer, and by the end of the first semester, we were a couple! We got married a few months after graduation at the end of 2016, and now we have two beautiful boys! We are so thankful for that chance encounter at the end of Orientation and grateful that we were able to foster a beautiful relationship throughout our time in Binghamton.
Miriam Broome ’16 and Ariel Broome ’16
Is this seat taken?
He was the captain of the men’s basketball team. She was a cheerleader. He chose the empty seat next to her on a bus ride home from the December 3 away game to New Paltz. 30 years later, they are still going strong! Fun facts: their twins were born on the same date 13 years later.
Chris Jackey ’90 and Diane (Aloisio) Jackey ’91
A sweet proposal
They first locked eyes in the Union at an Indian International Student Union meeting and became friends shortly after. To officially ask her to be his girlfriend a year, after meeting in 2000, Pawan took her to the Oakdale Mall and had his friend find the cutest toddler at the mall to offer Jigisha a rose as tall as him with a pre-written note attached, asking her to be his girlfriend. Needless to say, she said yes. It took another seven years before an engagement in 2007 and the wedding in 2008. Two beautiful daughters were born in 2010 and 2011.
Pawan ’04 and Jigisha ’02
A special study spot
We met in the library. I had a special spot where I liked to study and thought no one knew about it. One day I saw Raviv studying there with two of my friends. We ended up running into each other in the library very often. Little did I know that Raviv was going there because he knew it was my favorite spot to study. After a while of just “running into each other” at Chabad, his frat house and, of course, the library, we started texting and had our first date at the Blake. We’ve been together for 13 years, married for 10 and have three kids together.
Gabriella Zur ’12 and Raviv Jackier, MBA ’12
Having a “ball”
We met through the ballroom club, both looking for some distraction and fun from our PhDs. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day 2018 at Number 5. We got married during COVID in 2021, right before starting our new journey in Boston, after we both graduated with our PhDs from Binghamton University. We welcomed our daughter, Anya, in September 2022.
Caroline Mauduy, PhD ’19 and Nikita Brodyagin, PhD ’21
A blind date at the campus pub!
We were set up by our roommates at the end of our sophomore year. Tom was in the Watson School of Engineering and I was in the Decker School of Nursing. We met on a blind date for a Crosby show at the pub on campus, and the rest is history! Twenty-six years and two kids later, Tom is working in construction management for the same company since graduation, and I am currently working for a pediatric practice. Our son is grown and in college himself and our daughter is a junior in high school. We have our roommates and Binghamton to thank for sparking our happy life!
Tom Drumm ’00 and Liana Drumm ’00
Killer dance moves
We met at a Halloween party during our junior year. He was a friend of one of my friends/roommate. He originally didn’t want to go out because he had to study for an exam. He went anyways, but didn’t wear a costume, so he stood out. I introduced myself, and the rest is history. We went on many study dates and attended many social events. He won me over with his killer dance moves. As our relationship got more serious, we went out on a more official date a couple of months later, during winter break. We met up at The Met in NYC and went out to eat at a restaurant we could not afford. Once in Binghamton, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, a few days before Valentine’s Day. This February, we will have dated for six years. Last year, on our anniversary, he proposed, and we are currently planning our wedding.
Nicole ’19 and Koz Marlow ’19
Call a (cute) medic!
Rebecca and Ben got into Harpur’s Ferry the same semester, in fall 2013. After getting to know each other during long nights on shifts and while driver training the ambulance, Rebecca and Ben started dating in 2015. Rebecca and Ben got married in 2022 and are still active alumni members of Harpur’s Ferry as medics.
Ben Barone ’16 and Rebecca Monachelli ’16
Must hate diners
Michelle and I met in September 2011 in Cascade Hall in Mountainview. I lived in room 108 and she lived down the hall in 103. At first, Michelle and her roommate started spending time with us to get their mind off classes and other difficulties of being a first-semester first-year student, because our room was fun and always had something to distract them with. Michelle and I started dating in November 2011 and our first date was at a rundown diner on the Vestal Parkway that is no longer there. It was my first time ever eating at a diner and I only picked it because I heard Michelle liked diners, later to find out that she did not like diners at all. Whoops. We hit it off immediately and were a perfect match for each other. We continued to date all through college and we married in August 2019, and now live together in Wilton, N.Y. with our cats, Luna and Lily. What keeps us together to this day is our easy-going yet hard-working attitudes. Happy Valentine’s Day, Michelle!
Kyle Briggs ’14 and Michelle Briggs (Cerniglia) ’15
Like something out of a movie
Shameeka was a junior and Rebecca was a freshman when they met and worked together in the now-defunct Students of Color Support Center (SCSC). They had limited, but always friendly, contact during the Bingo years, and kept in loose touch through AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and literally one phone call. Years went by as they attended and graduated from Penn and Columbia with their master’s….While Shameeka sat on a mailbox at the NYC Pride Parade, Rebecca spotted her in a crowd of thousands and shouted her name. It was a special, movie-like reunion after not seeing each other for years. One year later, Rebecca hosted a house party, deep crushes were revealed that night and the rest is history. They were married in 2013 at the Queens County Farm Museum and have been married for over 10 years. Shameeka is a psychotherapist and restorative justice author and Rebecca works as a philanthropic diversity executive and coach/consultant. They live with their beautiful dog, Pierre, in Queens.
Rebecca Mattis-Pinard ’05 and Shameeka Mattis-Pinard ’03
They exchanged vows on campus!
While we had mutual friends for the entirety of the 2016-2017 academic year, we officially met outside of App Dining Hall in spring 2017. We discovered we were both hired as RAs in Mountainview for the following year, and at RA training that summer, we ended up becoming close friends. By September, we were dating. Almost exactly six years later, we tied the knot just 20 minutes away from the University, over the border in Pennsylvania. Before the ceremony, we exchanged our private vows at the gazebo outside of the Nature Preserve and made sure to get our picture with Baxter before we left! Many of our Binghamton friends attended or were in our wedding party, and our photographer was a fellow Binghamton grad (Jon Flores ‘19). We have continued our love story in the capital region, where both of us now work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Alex in the Physics department and Lauryn in the Student Health Center).
Lauryn Maleski ’19 and Alexander Brodie ’20, MS ’21
Desperately Seeking Study Partner
Always the studious couple, Ross and Veronica happened to be taking two of the same classes at Binghamton in fall 2016. While in the political science class “Congress and the President,” Ross sent a GroupMe message desperate for a study partner for a midterm exam in the history class “Revolution and the Founding.” Although more than a few students overlapped in the two classes, it just so happened that Veronica was also desperate for a study partner. Well, the two agreed to meet up in the MarketPlace, and the rest was history. Their conversation included their love of the musical Hamilton, their nerdy history interests, the New York Mets and the United States Supreme Court. Although they never did actually study for the exam, that never stopped them from excelling and graduating from Binghamton, and then law school! And now these two attorneys are thrilled to finally be getting married in October!
Ross Wagner ’18 and Veronica Acevedo ’19
Love advice...from Vince Vaughn
We had a cinema class together freshman year, but did not officially meet until our junior year. Friends of ours tried to set us up, but it did not happen. We met at a friend’s birthday dinner. We talked all night. When we returned to school senior year, we saw each other out at the Rat. We again talked all night. He waited way too long to call, but did after seven days. He had just watched the movie Swingers and was following the “movie’s advice.” We started dating in September 1997, got engaged March 1999 and married in September 2000. We have three children: Jordan, Jackson and Josie. Our oldest is a freshman at Binghamton this year.
Jesse Lubinsky ’98 and Jessica Rappaport ’98
Dance-turned-romance
We met at dance practice for a yearly cultural show called Tamasha held on campus. We were paired off as freshman dance partners for being the tallest ones in the group. Not too long after, we were spending all of our free time together – studying at Bartle for our biology classes, trying out Binghamton restaurants or attending University events for clubs we were a part of. I eventually asked her to be my girlfriend on the roof of my dorm in Mountainview in 2015. Eight years later, we tied the knot, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have this woman in my life. Shout-out to Binghamton University for bringing us together and helping us create those lifelong memories!
Kishan Patel ’17 and Asha Patel ’17
It was love at first sight….for one of them
We met on CoRE in Dickinson O’Connor’s fifth floor. It was love at first sight…for one of us. We were good friends for two years until he finally fell in love with me too. Alex asked me to marry him a month after he graduated, in the Nature Preserve, where we loved to hike during our years together at Binghamton. We’ve been married for five years now and have a beautiful daughter.
Alex Miller ’17 and Emma Miller ’18
(Not quite) high school sweethearts
We met at a party on one of the first nights of the semester at the end of August 2015. Andrew was a sophomore and DeAnna was a freshman. We discovered we actually went to the same high school, but never knew each other before Binghamton. We went on our first date at Cold Stone. We started officially dating on Oct. 1, 2015, and have been together ever since. We got engaged on Nov. 9, 2023 and are getting married on Oct. 4, 2024!
DeAnna Cassino ’18 and Andrew Sulz ’19
An oar-some relationship
Devin and I met on the rowing club, and although we had practice at the same time every day, we didn’t really get to know each other until 2017. One of our first times hanging out was when Devin invited me to watch Jeopardy, and I showed up a bit late. When I mentioned that I was ready to watch, she informed me that it had just ended (I didn’t realize that it was a TV show). Our first official date was a college ski night at Greek Peak. We are now approaching our fifth year of marriage and have a son! Although life is very busy between work, raising our child,and the many things in between, we still find time to get some in rowing here and there.
Matthias Gaige ’17 and Devin Gaige ’18
He finally made a move
We met during orientation before freshman year had officially started, and so we were friends going into the start of freshman year! We both lived in Dickinson and so we were always in each other’s orbit, but I definitely thought he only thought of me as a friend – he never made a move! COVID-19 came and we both left school in March 2020, and when I returned to Binghamton in my off-campus apartment for our junior year, he was still doing classes from home, but came to visit. We were actually playing spin the bottle with friends (we were avoiding restaurants/large groups due to COVID and it was definitely a random game night) and we kissed. At last, the first move was made and within weeks we were officially dating, and he continued to come to Binghamton every weekend to see me! That was fall of 2020 and we’ve been dating since. We had an official first date at Social on State (also went there for our one-year anniversary). We both now live in NYC (soon to be roomies) and he’s going to be a physician‘s assistant and I work for a luxury vintage fashion brand. Without Binghamton, I’m not sure we would’ve crossed paths.
Molly Alexander ’22 and Ian Howard ’22
Professor-turned-matchmaker
We met in Professor Vogely’s “Methods of Teaching” class in summer 1996. Professor Vogely kept putting us in the same small group, so we were forced to work together. He made me laugh and we enjoyed working together. We went on our first date on June 9, 1996 at Cortese, and have been together ever since. We will be married 25 years this summer, and we are still teaching together in the same high school, down the hall from one another. Professor Vogely is our dear friend and calls us her greatest accomplishment. She has come to every family event including our wedding. Our son will be attending Binghamton in the fall, and we are so excited!
Marylynn Doff ’96, MAT ’97 and Stephen Doff, MAT ’97
Greek Lifers turned lifelong loves
Jordan was a Pi Lam boy in his junior year and Lana was a freshman hoping to join the Tri Delta org. They got introduced by some friends, and the rest was history. We got married in November 2023 and live together in South Florida.
Jordan Hill ’18 and Lana Hill ’20
It started with a snort?
Maggie and I met our very first day of classes in freshman year. Unbeknownst to me, she was sitting behind me, and when somebody told a joke during their introductions to the class, she let out a loud, snort-filled laugh. Having never heard somebody who snorts when they laugh, I immediately whipped my head around and saw her for the first time. We left class with a promise to meet up to do laundry and study later that evening, and that was the beginning of the best friendship of my life. We didn’t start dating until the beginning of sophomore year, but have been together ever since. Together, we’ve traveled across the globe, lived on both coasts of the continental U.S., and found our first home together. And in April of this year, I get the absolute pleasure of being able to call her my wife.
Dakota Desantis ’14 and Maggie Fox ’14
Literally swept off her feet
If you were on campus during the fall semester of 2013, you may have seen a guy carrying a girl with crutches to her classes. That was us! We met in a ballet class, where Luke convinced me to join the Ballroom Dance team. A week after meeting and having our first date at Burger Mondays, I broke my foot while we were practicing a dance. Luke took me to all my doctor’s appointments, helped me around campus, and the rest is history. He swept me off my feet! We still visit Binghamton often, and 10 years later, Luke proposed in FA-104, right where we met. We are getting married this fall. Shout out to Stephanie, the ballroom team, and all our Bing friends we made memories with.
Emily Tetlow ’16 and Luke Wentlent ’12, PhD ’16
The Masked Sweetheart
I had been mutuals on Instagram with Josh for our freshman year but never met in person before until I went to an entry-level furry convention downtown. It was my first time and I was going because a friend had recommended it. I immediately recognized him when I first arrived because he didn’t have his mask on yet and he immediately recognized me. I never thought that we would ever cross paths, because we seemed to be from two completely different worlds. I didn’t have many friends in the beginning of college, while he was always surrounded by others. We instantly hit it off and went on our first date at Einstein Bagels, and we’ve been together ever since. We still go to conventions every year.
Josh ’21 and Ky Tran ’21
Too cool for school
Danielle and I were a couple of years apart at Binghamton, but I was in the same fraternity as her younger brother, Doug (lots of Bing in the family!), so I had met Danielle a few times through him. I thought she was cute, but she was in the “cool” sorority that didn’t hang out with my fraternity. So, we didn’t talk too much at Binghamton but reconnected on a ski weekend a few years after graduation with a lot of our other mutual Binghamton friends. Danielle and I were basically the only ones out of our friend group who lived in Westchester, as most of our college friends lived in NYC. That Westchester connection (and her smile) led to dating, marriage (2010), two beautiful daughters, and lots of memories! It all started at Binghamton almost 25 years ago!
Stefan Feldman ’03 and Danielle Feldman (Leder) ’01
A Valentine’s Day first date
We met our sophomore and junior years. We lived across the hall from each other in the Marcy dorm in Mountainview. For our first date, we went to TGIF Fridays on Valentine’s Day. Matt is a cyber security analyst and Lauren is a registered nurse. We have been married for seven years and have two daughters.
Matt Santos ’10 and Lauren Santos ’11
The meaning of gummy bears
It’s the voice inside that nudged me to ask Leon McMillan’s name in Binghamton University’s student union. I had observed him, inquired about him and finally asked him “What is your name?” It was our first conversation; it took place at the student union information desk. He was kind, patient, gentle, courteous and humble, and still is to this day. A friend to all. From that autumn moment and onward, I always greeted Leon with gummy bears from the candy shop. To this day, it’s my favorite and he usually includes it in most of my gifts. For us, gummy Bears mean just a little bit more; it reminds of our foundation. We are opposites and our circle will attest to that. We have faced celebrations as well as challenges, it’s all there in our story, it’s a part of our lives. We are married 23 years. What was a comfortable friendship, blossomed. By God’s plan, we were married on my grandmother’s birthday, June 17, 2000. Originally planned for early August, but then God laughed. We have two daughters, Dominique and Savannah. I prayed for Leon, and when God spoke to me to introduce myself to him, I listened. Marriage is a blessing, a journey of daily revelations to each other. We are thankful.
Brigitte McMillan ’96 and Leon McMillan ’97
A puzzling beginning
She invited me to her house party…I kept trying to talk to her, but she was busy being the popular one at the party. Eventually, she gave me the time of day. At one point, she told me she could do a Rubik’s cube in under two minutes. I called BS, so she took me to her room to show me. She let me jumble it up, and then solved it in 1 minute 30 seconds. That’s when I kissed her for the first time. There was some back and forth after that, and at one point she told me to “Never talk to her again.” So I left her alone…for three weeks. She messaged me an inside joke, I invited her to our team’s Christmas party. On New Year’s Day 2011, I went to her house to meet her parents and ask her to be my girlfriend in the corniest way possible. The rest of our time at Binghamton, we were inseparable. Then three and a half years of long-distance while I started to build a career in the city and she finished veterinary school in the Caribbean. I wasn’t allowed to propose to her until she was back in the country, so I waited until 2016. We were married September 9, 2017. We bought our first house in November 2020. Henry was born in January 2021. His little sister, Eden Kay, was born a little over 2 months ago in November 2023.
Ryan Button, ’12, MS ’13 and Melissa Duggan ’12
Who’s this Glenn G. Bartle?
I, with all of the wisdom of a 21-year-old, decided to leave my required gym credit to the last semester of my college career. Jessica, being a pragmatic, levelheaded, do-gooder on the med-school track, finished all of her required credits and had room in her schedule for something that seemed fun. I wanted to do karate with the boys. Alas, I overslept and the course filled up….tai chi it is, I guess. I saw Jessica from across the crowded gymnasium and my first thought was, “How come I’ve never seen her around?” It turns out, she was hanging out with some guy named Glenn G. Bartle all of the time. Glenn G. Bartle…I didn’t know who he was, and although he sounded rich, I knew I was about to steal his girl. I turned my charm up as high as it could go, offered Jessica and her friend rides to class. I even pretended to be bad at tai chi so that she would pity me and give me extra help. Jessica and I became close immediately. That was 17 years ago, and we’ve married, had two kids and carved out a life together. We rarely go too far out of our way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but we do go all-out every year on January 22, the day we first met at Binghamton. I’ve even come to accept how often she speaks of Glenn, how tall he is and how many books he has. I still have not met him and plan to keep it that way. Thank you, Binghamton!
Jessica Licausi ’07 and Paul Licausi ’07
Crosswords and crossing paths
Joe and I met in Hughes Hall in Hinman during fall 2013. Some of our favorite Binghamton memories from that time include Hinman Hysteria, family feud at Tom and Marty’s, and hanging out at the Nite Owl. I became an RA in Hinman, and Joe became an RA in Dickinson, before we both graduated in 2016. Though we broke up just before our senior year, we reconnected through an independent study of crossword puzzles with Professor Michael Sharp. We started dating again in graduate school at Binghamton, where Joe was getting his master’s in accounting and I was getting my master’s in teaching. The rest is history! After being long-distance for a few years post-college, we moved to Astoria, Queens. I teach biology at Rye High School, and Joe is an audit manager at Deloitte. In February 2022, on a ski trip at Mt. Gore, we got engaged. We got married in July 2023, surrounded by almost 30 fellow Binghamton alumni. We cherished our time at Binghamton and are grateful it brought us together!
Clare (Gilroy) Goldin ’16, MAT ’17 and Joe Goldin ’16, MS ’17
October magic
We met on Tinder in 2014, and we lived in buildings next to each other in Dickinson. We spoke on Tinder for a while, and then we met up for the first time at The Object in Dickinson; then we walked to the Nature Preserve for our first date, and it was an immediate connection. We’ve dated for just over eight years, seen each other through graduation at Binghamton, and master’s degrees elsewhere. In October 2023, we decided to take a trip back to Binghamton to go on a hike in the Nature Preserve and take in the fall foliage. He surprised me with an engagement ring in the exact place we had our first date. Having ’matched’ in October 2014, bought a home in October 2021, got engaged in the Nature Preserve in October 2023, it was only natural we would get married in October. 2024, here we come! Thank you, BU – we couldn’t have done it without you!
Krysten Hughes ’16 and Billy Thompson ’17
Which costume was it?
Dan and Jen met around 1995 when living on campus, in Seneca in CIW, initially as friends in neighboring suites and later off-campus houses. The romance was sparked at a Halloween party in 1996 on Leroy St. We will never know if it was Dan’s Kmart worker outfit or Jen’s Cindy Brady costume. They stayed together ever since then, married in 2003, and have three children. They still keep in touch with lots of college friends. In 2023, they celebrated 20 years of marriage (and 28 years of friendship). That same year, they were extremely proud to see their oldest son accepted at and choosing to go, all on his own accord, to their awesome alma mater.
Daniel McCann ’98 and Jennifer McCann ’97
A text-book romance
Nilesh and Shivani Patel met at Binghamton in 2005 and were part of the same larger group of friends for a few years. After a summer of talking over text in 2007, Shivani and Nilesh’s romance began as soon as they returned back to Binghamton, and they have been together ever since. Nilesh graduated before Shivani, but they continued their relationship long-distance after Nilesh graduated. They were engaged at the top of the Freedom Tower in May 2015 and were married in June 2016. They now reside in New Jersey with their two boys, ages 4 and 1.
Nilesh Patel ’08 and Shivani Patel’ 09
In sync
We met in March 2016 at SAEPi’s Lip Sync Battle in the Mandela Room. Evan’s younger sister (and Madison’s sorority sister) introduced us so we could sit together during the event. We instantly hit it off and had such a great time singing along to all the throwback hits. Soon after, we had our first date at Mario’s Pizzeria at University Plaza. We got engaged in March 2022 and just celebrated our wedding in July 2023! We are so grateful to Binghamton for bringing us together!
Madison Wegner ’17 and Evan Cohen ’16
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