56 Love Stories That Started at Binghamton

From a college romance to rekindled love

It was the summer of 2017, and we were both back home on Long Island for summer break and we met at a local bar. Once we got to talking, we found out we were both juniors at Binghamton University – I was a marketing major in the School of Management and he was an environmental geology major at Harpur College. That fall, we went back to school and went on a few dates – lunch at The Union, dancing at Tom & Marty’s – and we even shared our first kiss while on a walk in the Nature Preserve. We both knew it was something special, but oddly enough, it never went anywhere serious. We graduated in fall 2018, I changed my number and we never spoke again. Fast forward to April 2022, the universe brought us back together randomly through a mutual friend and we knew it was no coincidence. We have been inseparable ever since. We went on a road trip that year and stopped at Binghamton on our way home to relive our first kiss in the Nature Preserve. We’ll be married this October!

Imara Rosconi ‘18 and Matthew Cibuls ‘18

Forever travel partners

We met in 2012 in Delta Sigma Pi. Having a mutual friend group and studying accounting in the School of Management, we grew to be great friends. As time went on, we spent more and more time adventuring around campus and downtown and going on weekend trips. A spark grew and grew. In April 2013, he asked me to be his girlfriend – and the rest was history! Reflecting on our 11-plus years together, we have now traveled to 20 countries, eloped in the mountains of Glacier National Park in Montana and celebrated our wedding with over 30 Binghamton University alumni in attendance! We are forever grateful for Binghamton bringing this love together! The adventures shall continue! “It’s not four years, but for life!”

Dominic Bianco, MA ‘14 and Alexis Bianco, MA ‘14

Freshmen friends, now engaged sweethearts

We first met at Binghamton Chabad during a Friday night dinner as freshmen, and then spent the next year and a half as part of the same friend group. During sophomore year, we began spending more time together and went on our first date at Hinman Dining Hall and then a Binghamton basketball game! We’ve been together for about three years and recently got engaged!

Adina Horowitz ‘23 and Simon Weintraub ‘24

Across the hall to happily ever after

Caroline and Tyler’s love story began in the hallways of Bingham Hall during their sophomore year at Binghamton University. Living just across the hall from one another, they quickly became best friends, bonding over late-night talks, shared adventures and a growing connection that neither could ignore. What started as a beautiful friendship blossomed into a lifelong partnership. After years of building their relationship, they tied the knot in April 2024 with a magical wedding in Ireland, surrounded by their closest friends and family. Today, Caroline works as a dedicated pediatric nurse at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU, bringing care and compassion to her young patients. She’s currently working on her doctorate of nursing practice degree. Tyler, on the other hand, channels his passion for public service as a legislative director for a New York State assembly member. Looking back, they are forever grateful to Binghamton University – and the fateful decision to live across the hall from each other – for bringing them together. Their journey is a testament to how the smallest moments can lead to the most extraordinary love stories.

Caroline Smyth ‘13 and Tyler Fritzhand ‘14

Midnight kiss for 10 years and counting

We met at a Run Club party during Homecoming Weekend in 2014. I pursued Jason until our first date on New Year’s Eve that year at a Miller’s Ale House in Commack, N.Y. That was the first year for the past 10 that we’ve been each other’s midnight kisses! We live outside Orlando, Fla., and I work at Walt Disney World, while Jason works for Deloitte. We have two cats, Polly and Flower, and they are the loves of our lives.

Emily Santos ‘17 and Jason Santos ‘13, MS ‘14

Love that lasted longer than the dance marathon

We both lived on the second floor of Chenango Hall, four doors apart. Our first date was the Newing Dance Marathon in November 1977. We went out for 10 months and broke up in September 1978. We got back together when Adrianne was visiting our apartment at 27 Leroy St. after she transferred to SUNY Upstate for physical therapy. We have four children, three grandchildren and recently celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary!

David Berger ‘80 and Adrianne Saffir-Berger

Two doctors, two daughters, one special place

We first met one random night at Tony’s Italian Grill during senior year! Despite being pre-med and having several classes (including labs!) together, our paths hadn’t crossed until that night. Our first date was at Lost Dog Café, and it quickly became a special place for us. We dated until 2012, when we got married, and later welcomed two beautiful daughters into our lives. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the night we met, we took a trip back to Binghamton with our daughters and had lunch at Lost Dog – this time as a family. Now, thanks to Binghamton’s pre-med program, we’re both physicians and live in Mahwah, N.J.

Oren Ambalu ‘08 and Naomi Ambalu ‘08

Love brewing over coffee at Jazzman’s

We are actually from the same hometown in upstate New York but only knew each other by name. Alex transferred to Binghamton Univeristy in 2012, and we met through a mutual friend while waiting for coffee at Jazzman’s. That friend’s mom was in town to take him to dinner and invited both of us to join, and we hit it off. Our first official date was a Binghamton Senators hockey game, and we’ve been together since then! We have moved across the country a few times, settling in Texas, where we both went on to receive master’s degrees – mine an MBA, Alex with a master’s in geological sciences. We got married on Nov. 1, 2019, exactly seven years after we met (our lucky number). The friend who introduced us was one of Alex’s groomsmen, and his mom still takes credit for getting us together with that fateful dinner!

Alex Turkasz ‘14 and Ashley Turkasz ‘15

A kiss that changed everything

We met in EOP, started as friends, then became lovers. Danisha breached the friend zone by kissing him on a cold day in February after a party. The rest is history!

Chris Feliz ‘11 and Danisha Feliz ‘11

Differential equations and a lifetime of love

Connor was the literal boy next door, as we had neighboring suites in Mountainview. Our suites quickly became friends and we would bond over our differential equations classes. We accidentally found ourselves on a date our junior year and we’ve been together ever since! We were long-distance after graduation, but once the pandemic hit, we moved to Syracuse, N.Y., to start our lives together, and wouldn’t change a thing. We got engaged last December and are super excited to get married this September!

Jillian Satur ‘19 and Connor Perrault ‘19

Kahoot champions turned soulmates

We met in the science MAT program. We were in Lucky Mason-Williams’ class. She had the class play Kahoot, and we both were super competitive about it; we knew we’d be a perfect match. Our whole cohort went out after class one night in 2016 and we’ve been together ever since. We got married in a backyard COVID wedding in 2020. We live in Endwell, N.Y., and work in local high schools with our almost 2-year-old daughter, our 5-year-old Goldendoodle and a son on the way!

Erica Staiger (Darpino) MAT ‘17 and Colin Staiger MAT ‘17

Love reconnected in New York City

Matt and Emily’s story began at freshman orientation in the summer of 2009. She caught his eye, and without hesitation, he sent her a friend request on Facebook. They quickly became friends during their freshman year and stayed friends throughout college. In 2016, their paths crossed again. Emily had been living in Boston, working as a designer, while Matt had returned to his hometown on Long Island, where he was working as a chemist at Estée Lauder. They reconnected in New York City around Christmas time for their first official date, and from there, the rest was history. Fast forward to 2022, Matt popped the question, and in October 2023, they celebrated their love with a beautiful destination wedding in Portugal. Today, Matt and Emily are settled on Long Island, where they recently bought a home. They share their lives with their two beloved dogs, Coco and Bailey. Matt continues to work as a chemist at Estée Lauder, while Emily thrives as an art director for a luxury travel marketing firm. Together, they’re living their dream and are forever grateful for their paths crossing at Binghamton, all thanks to those awkward icebreaker games at orientation.

Emily Collins ‘13 and Matthew Collins ‘13

Two paths crossed at The Union

I was doing homework at the Union one evening when a mutual friend introduced us. I immediately thought Serhiy was very handsome and had a great personality, but was initially bummed because I thought he was interested in my roommate, who was there with me studying. I was wrong about that…he wanted to get to know me more, so our mutual friend helped our paths to cross again a few weeks later while out one night at JT’s. Our first official date was on campus, at the Union of all places, and he asked me to be his girlfriend in my dorm room at O’Connor Hall. Serhiy proposed in Bali on an incredible vacation, and we are getting married this August. He is truly my best friend, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him! We have so many memories from our time together at Binghamton, and I look forward to one day taking our future kids back to the place where it all began!

Alexandra Golubow ‘17 and Serhiy Kralka ‘17

The couple that met in poetry class

Matt and Lindsey met in a poetry class with Professor Doris Umbers. Matt was in the School of Management, and Lindsey in Harpur College. We went to Tony’s Restaurant in Endwell for our first date. Lindsey graduated in May, whereas Matt graduated in December. We continued dating and are still together today. We have four children – a son who was just accepted to Binghamton University. Matt is the CFO of The Center for Discovery; Lindsey is the director of customer enablement for a tech company.

Matthew Brescia ‘05 and Lindsey Quistgaard ‘05

Online games to real-life dates

We met in 2020 during COVID, our freshman year, in a Dickinson Community Zoom event a couple of weeks before the semester started, and a bunch of us started to play online games with each other before we got to school! A smaller group formed within this group and we all started a Minecraft server together. During that time, we got closer to each other and began to talk on our own. When we moved onto campus, we met up with each other and quickly fell for each other, starting to date within the week! We made it official at the Newing Fire Pit!

Kayleigh Scuderi ‘24 and Noah ‘24

Syracuse to Raleigh, and everywhere in between

We met at Binghamton through a mutual friend, Graham White, who James was roommates with in College-in-the-Woods. We hung out in the dorms together and out and about off campus. James took classes over the summer of 2004, and Amy would drive down to hang out with him on the weekends, as she lived close by in Syracuse, N.Y. Our first date was at the movies. We dated from the end of sophomore year until graduation, at which point we moved to New York City together to pursue our master’s degrees. Three years later, in 2009, we moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Amy’s sisters relocated. We got married in 2013 in Turks & Caicos, and have lived in the Raleigh area ever since. Amy works as a registered nurse at Duke University Hospital and James also works for Duke Health with the Performance Improvement team. We have two sons, McCabe (9) and Jameson (2).

James Feldmann ‘06 and Amy (Street) Feldmann ‘06

What started with a quarter became forever

We met on the second day of the EOP summer program at an organized bowling event. We were in different lanes, so we didn’t properly introduce ourselves. Someone I was playing with wanted a soda but was short a quarter for the vending machines, so I went to ask the people around me for one. I ended up asking her and made nothing of it. The next day, I was wandering around the dorms and saw her sitting by herself, watching a show on her laptop in the common area. I thought to myself, “Hey, what if this person is the love of my life and this determines the rest of my future?” So, I walked up and introduced myself to her. We quickly became close friends, walking to classes together and living on the same floor. We always pushed away any suggestions of us being a couple from others around us, as we truly only thought of each other as nothing more than friends. However, after the summer program ended, we still talked every day and realized we wanted to spend every moment together and that there was something more there. We had our first official date during the first fall break and have been together ever since. We worked together at Bartle Library and the tutoring center. We’ve got a couple of cats. A few years after graduation, we got married. It’s been 11 years and counting.

Eidan Maimoni ‘17 and Winifer Pimentel ‘17

It all started at Cleveland Hall

We both lived on the same floor, 3A Cleveland Hall, in Hinman freshman year. That winter we stayed up late watching the 1988 Winter Olympics together. I remember wishing and hoping that we would watch future Olympics together again. We started dating in April. On our first date, we took the blue OCC bus from the Union to Burger King in Vestal Plaza. We got married in 1994. We have two sons, Brandon (27) and Nathan (25). We celebrated our 30th anniversary in Las Vegas at a Barry Manilow concert! Every four years when the Olympics take place, we remember watching together in Hinman. Bob is the senior vice president of St. Ann’s Community, and Karen is a happily retired fifth-grade teacher. The Bourgs live in Pittsford, N.Y., with their Goldendoodle, Lilly.

Bob Bourg ‘91 and Karen (Krakowiak) Bourg ‘91

Sprinting toward forever

Christian and I were both on the track team at Binghamton University, both running the 400-meter and 500-meter races, and serving as lead-offs for the 4x4-meter relays. We also lived across the hall from each other in Windham. I was a sophomore, and he was a freshman. One night, Christian picked my friends and me up from a party and drove us home. After I got into my suite, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, Christian was standing there, and out of the blue, he gave me the sweetest kiss! He could obviously sense that I was into him. The rest is history. We dated for the rest of college, got married in 2012, had twin boys in 2015, another son in 2017, a daughter in 2019 and we just welcomed a baby boy last May. Christian is a successful mechanical engineer, and I stay home with our beautiful kids! Thank you, Binghamton!

Hana Wright ‘10 and Christian Wright ‘11

A Binghamton match made to last

We first met our senior year through a mutual friend in Tom & Marty’s. After talking for a few weeks, we went on our first date at Copper Top, and soon after, we made it official and never looked back. After six years together, we got engaged while on a trip to Ireland and are set to marry in 2026. Our mutual friend and fellow Binghamton alum, Greg Maitles, will even officiate our wedding!

​​Ryan Madigan ‘19 and Hannah Zaiff ‘19

From organic chemistry to everlasting chemistry

We met in the spring of 2018, as we had our organic chemistry discussion together and ended up forming a group. Over time, we spent more time together, going on hikes in the Nature Preserve and meeting up for Nite Owl at the C4 Dining Hall. We loved meeting up at Einstein’s Bros for bagels and coffee. During breaks between semesters, we would pick a random state and take a road trip for a few days. We even spent most of the COVID lockdown in Binghamton together. Our friends became our biggest cheerleaders as we dated throughout the rest of undergrad before graduating together on the same day, with our names being read back to back. We have been together for almost seven years, got engaged in 2022 and are planning our wedding this June in Albany!

Jason Aguirre Criollo ‘21 and Anni-Maxine Quaye ‘21

It was always meant to be

We met in the fall of 1978. I was a sophomore, and Bob was a freshman. Bob lived in Cleveland Hall, and I was a Lehman burnout (from the dorm fire), so I spent most days and many nights hanging out on his floor, where I had lived the previous year. Although we never dated in college, because we had the same circle of friends, we often got together after graduation. Our friends all used to say that we belonged together. Eventually, we listened to them, and in 1991, we got married. We have two grown children, one of whom also graduated from Binghamton, which we call SUNY-B.

Michele Harbatkin Kleinberger ‘81 and Robert Kleinberger ‘82

From D&D to diamond rings

We met for our first date in the park near the University Downtown Center – we decided to meet outdoors due to COVID. We ate sushi from Bao Bao and we bonded over being queer/trans, our nerdy interests and our work at Binghamton. We talked, walked and laughed together for hours. By our second date, we were officially dating. Holly worked on their Master of Social Work, and Soledad juggled her bachelor’s degree, Scholars, Shades and Transcend. We joined a Dungeons & Dragons group of mutual friends during our last year at Bing, and with this group, we got engaged in August of last year! We have been together over four years and are excited to spend the rest of our lives together.

Soledad Arianna Pérez ‘22 and Holly Holtz ’22

A hike to remember

We first met in the Fine Arts Building waiting for Chinese class. We actually never dated in college but became close friends. After six years of being friends, I finally asked Adriana out when we both ended up back home on Long Island and were both single. Our first date was a hike up Anthony’s Nose in the Hudson Valley, and it’s been history since then! We got married last year and just had our first child – a future Bearcat.

Jonas Andrew Batcheller ‘14 and Adriana Demirciyan Batcheller ‘14

Long-distance, lasting love

Jeremy was completing his MBA in the fall of 2015, and I (Elana) was just starting my Master of Science Education. We met at the Colonial when Jeremy came over and introduced himself. We realized we lived in the same off-campus apartments and hit it off right away. Our first date (though we didn’t call it a date at the time) was dinner that Jeremy cooked at his apartment. We bonded over our shared taste in music, Judaism and sense of humor. Our favorite Binghamton activities included walking in the Nature Preserve, getting dinner at Tully’s and going to the occasional trivia nights. Jeremy graduated in December, but I still had two years left in my program. We made long-distance work, alternating weekends in Binghamton and Brooklyn. When I graduated in 2017, we moved to Westchester, N.Y. Jeremy works as a data developer and I am a kindergarten teacher. We were married in 2020 and now live on Long Island with our beautiful 4-month-old son, Ari. We can’t wait to bring him to Binghamton for his move-in day!

Jeremy Vela MS ‘17 and Elana Vela ‘14, MBA ‘15

Love at first Shabbat

Hailey and I met at Friday night dinner at Chabad of Binghamton. It was her first week of college and the start of my third year. She was sitting with some old friends of mine and caught my eye immediately. Something about her stuck with me, and I couldn’t get her out of my head. When I saw her again the next Friday night, I knew she was special. We talked the entire night and hung out again the next day. A few weeks later, our mutual friend told me that I needed to officially ask her out because she wouldn’t shut up about it (thank you, Andrew – I was just being an idiot!). That night, I asked her to be my girlfriend. We didn’t have our first official date until about four months later, when she came to see my hometown (eating only Kosher makes dinner dates hard in Binghamton!). Now, more than three years later, we are happily engaged and are set to get married in July! We’re currently long-distance, as Hailey lives in Cleveland, but she’s worth it. She’s my best friend, and forever with her can’t come soon enough.

Joshua Feldman ‘23 and Hailey Fixler ‘24

How a compliment turned into a lifetime

I first met Daria at Tom and Marty’s in November 2014 when I made a drive-by compliment about her dance moves on my way out the door – only to realize the friend I was leaving to meet had just walked into the bar. I went back over to strike up a conversation. We exchanged jokes, names and lingering looks. After that, we would meet on campus every Wednesday for a walk or bite to eat. In May 2015, I finally asked her to be my girlfriend on the Washington Street Bridge downtown. By 2018, Daria began her career as a physician assistant at the UHS Walk-In in Vestal, while I finished my PhD and taught high school physics at Binghamton and Windsor schools to complete my master’s program. It was at UHS that Daria served on the front lines of the COVID pandemic. We moved from our apartment near my lab at the Smart Energy Building to the heart of Washington, D.C., in November 2020 for a fellowship at the Department of Energy. I just wrapped up a year at the White House working on industrial strategy, and Daria is beloved by her patients as a primary care physician assistant. I proposed to Daria at a surprise picnic on Signers Island in June 2021. We love biking around D.C. and visiting the museums and parks throughout. When we aren’t exploring, we love building puzzles and Legos while our cats, Obi and Snips, try to participate. 2024 was a big year for us; after 10 years together, we finally got married! On July 5, we had a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral that incorporated traditions from our Polish and Indian backgrounds. We were able to host friends and family for an extended weekend that included July 4 celebrations and excursions around the monuments and museums. I was lucky enough to have my lab mate and PhD advisor in attendance! Daria and I cherish the memories we made at Binghamton University. We miss the beautiful campus – especially in the fall – and the close-knit community of friends, researchers and students there. Some of our favorite memories include walking through the Nature Preserve, club meetings with free pizza and playing intramural games together.

Jeremy Mehta MA ‘18, PhD ‘19 and Daria Kacprzyk Mehta ‘16

From races to romance

I can still clearly remember the first time I saw Alexis. It was August 2012, and the cross country team was having a picnic dinner at Rec Park before our first race of the season. I was helping to set the table and I looked up and saw a very cute new girl walking over to join us. We gradually got to know each other through many track meets and practices. We didn’t start dating until two years later when we bonded over shared love of books, movies and competitive board games. We went to Thai Time for our first date and had our first kiss on the bridge by Confluence Park. Now, we live in Boston with our rescue dog, Walter. We will celebrate our five-year anniversary this August.

Chris Fernandez MSE ‘15 and Alexis Hatcher ‘16

Cheers to forever

We met on the last day of the fall 2000 semester at the bar Cheers, of all places. We ended up talking over AOL Instant Messenger over the winter break and got together on and off for a year before finally staying together a year later when we met up on the last day of the fall 2001 semester at a different bar, the Rathskeller. Much to Debra’s surprise, we’ve been together ever since. We now make a home together in Northport, N.Y., with two kids. Debra is a psychologist and Shawn is an attorney.

Shawn Kelleher ‘04 and Debra Failla ‘02

New beginnings at Binghamton, big plans ahead

We met in 2017, my freshman year and Fred’s sophomore year. A friend from high school lived on the same floor of Smith Hall as Fred. She introduced us, and the rest is history! Our first date was at Cortese, and we also went to Lost Dog Cafe together many times. We are now finishing up medical school and PA school in the Hudson Valley area. We got engaged recently and will be married in 2026! Thank you, Binghamton!

Maddy Saarie ‘21 and Fred Mignone ‘20

College classmates turned life partners

Mary and I met as freshmen when we were in a class together. When we were seniors, we were both student counselors in Chenango Hall. At graduation time in 1972, after most on-campus underclassmen had fled for their homes (most upperclassmen lived off-campus in those days), Mary and I were among the few seniors left on campus. We started socializing, and sparks started flying (at least for me). We were married in 1975 during my second year in law school, had a son, who was born in 1984, and will celebrate our 50th anniversary on March 15, 2025. We have homes in Bonita Springs, Florida (where Mary lives most of the year) and Stamford, Connecticut (where I live most of the year since I still practice law in New York part-time). In addition to our active social life with friends and family, we golf together, and I let her beat me occasionally.

Richard L. Gold ‘72 and Mary Laroe Gold ‘72

Love at first hat

​We met at a funky hat party in University Plaza Apartments in October 2014 and immediately felt a connection. As 20- and 21-year-olds, we spent the next year delaying commitment but made it official during the summer of 2015 when Mark stayed at school to finish classes and Raffi spent the summer working at BU Acres (if you haven’t been, go! It’s beautiful). We’ve been by each other’s sides over the last decade through the many ups and downs life brings, and have seen each other grow into adulthood. We are so grateful for our time at Binghamton, the friends we still have to this day, and the amazing food we still miss – R.I.P. Cyber Cafe West! Binghamton is so central to our love story. Today, we live in Manhattan with our dog, Josie, and are engaged to be married in 2026!

Raffaella Glasser and Mark Popik

A journey from Mountainview to Maui

The first time Chris and I crossed paths was when I left my Binghamton ID on my lunch tray in Mountainview Dining Hall sophomore year. This kicked off a series of events that led to our first meeting junior year at a party at his house. I remember thinking that Chris was so funny that first meeting, and I was excited to run into him again senior year at a mixer with his ice hockey team and my field hockey team. Our first date was a few weeks later at Little Venice, followed by many others at The Lost Dog, Sake-Tumi, Nirchi’s and other Binghamton hotspots. We officially started dating in the spring semester and both moved to New York City after graduation to start our careers. We got our first apartment together in 2020, adopted our dog, Winnie, shortly after, and were engaged on a trip to Maui in 2022. We celebrated our wedding in Sea Cliff, N.Y., in August 2024 with family and friends, including many Binghamton alumni who have been there since the beginning.

Elizabeth Ventura ‘15 and Chris Emerson ‘15

Picnics, hikes and $1 sushi

It’s a tale as old as time! Chris, a fraternity brother, and I, a sorority girl, were destined to meet at a mixer. Although we ran in the same circle and attended the same events throughout college, we didn’t meet until junior year. Chris was a biology major, and I was a dual major in psychology and human development. We shared a love for being cozy, late-night Taco Bell runs, picnics at “the Blake,” hikes in the Nature Preserve and $1 sushi at Saki-Tumi. We’ve been together ever since. On July 5, 2024, he surprised me during a picnic at a lake, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! We visited Binghamton that same summer and reminisced about the good old days. I can’t wait to say “I do” in 2026!

Ashleigh Bieder ‘18 and Christopher Buonagura ‘18

Dance partners for life

We first met on Quimbamba Latin Dance Team (shoutout Quimbamba) when I was auditioning to join the team in UU-209 and he was already a team member, who helped me greatly during the audition process. For our first date, he invited me over, cooked me dinner and then we choreographed a dance together for our dance team. He eventually asked me out using a picture collage with a bunch of our photos and the question written inside. Now, he is working as an electrical engineer and I am in grad school for clinical mental health counseling. We still live in the area with our two dogs, Iroh and Choco, and our two cats, Amoeba and Protozoa!

Ronald ‘19, MS ‘20 and Angelina Bonacasa ‘22

From physics to parenthood

We met during the first week of school as freshmen in Bob Pompi’s Great Ideas of Physics class. I recognized Ivy from my dorm and asked her to get lunch with me after class. We had lunch at Mountainview Dining Hall, followed by a physics study session that night, and have been inseparable ever since. Ivy graduated college in three years and worked as a nurse in Binghamton while she waited for me to graduate. Together, we then moved to Boston, followed by New York, and finally, our current home in Washington, D.C. We got married in 2013 and now have two beautiful children. We will be celebrating 20 years together this fall.

Ivy Benjenk ‘08 and Randy Benjenk ‘09

Nature walks and TV talks

We met freshman year through the on-campus Christian ministry, InterVarsity. While we hung out a lot in our core group of friends, I didn’t get the courage to ask Steph out on a date until a year later. In Binghamton, we enjoyed walking through the Nature Preserve, watching our favorite TV show, Friends, and sharing our study struggles – me battling through engineering and her breezing through chemistry. After Steph finished her postdoc in Barcelona, I quickly proposed to her, and we have been married for 13 years. Currently, we reside in New York City with our two beautiful daughters.

Stephanie Lim-Jaico ’04, PhD ’08 and Eugene Jaico ‘04, MBA ’05

A 54-year love story

I first encountered Barbara playing touch football behind Bingham Hall in 1968. Intrigued, I decided to keep an eye out for her on campus, and when I ran into her at the student center, we seemed to connect. We started “hanging out,” and the following year – despite vastly different upbringings – we became somewhat inseparable. I soon abandoned dorm life and joined her and her roommates in a vintage house in Vestal, all sharing a perspective and lifestyle truly reflective of the times. We eventually moved to our own apartment on Beethoven Street in Binghamton. In time, we agreed we should marry – which we did in 1970. Our first son was born two years later in Johnson City, and we moved to New York City in search of career opportunities. After some false starts, several relocations, and another son, we ended up in Westchester County in 1979, where our family and careers flourished. We are both retired now and have remained in close contact with numerous Harpur College friends. Though COVID put a damper on our celebratory 50th wedding anniversary, we will hit the 54-year mark this July.

Wayne LoPrete ‘72 and Barbara (Roth) LoPrete ‘71

Finding love in perfect harmony

She was in the Pegs, and I was in Note to Self. We knew of each other for most of college, but it wasn’t until an a cappella semester show after-party, just a couple of months before graduation, that we connected. We’ve been together ever since that night and got married in December 2022. Fast forward, we recently moved to San Antonio, Tex., with our two cats. Kaitlin works as a nurse practitioner at a cancer research hospital, and I am a diagnostic radiology resident in the Army. We couldn’t be happier and are so lucky to have met at Binghamton when we did!

Stone Geise ‘18, MA ‘19 and Kaitlin (Cash) Geise, BSN ‘18

Rowing through life together

We were both on the rowing team at Binghamton for all four years. We finally decided to take the plunge our senior year after taking care of each other for so long. I asked her to go to Sake-Tumi, where I officially asked her to be my girlfriend. Over the next six years, we did long distance until we finally moved into our own place in Boston. We got married on July 20, 2024, surrounded by family, friends and many Binghamton alumni.

Tomas Arias ‘18 and Estefania Arias ‘18

Tinder match, Binghamton bound

We met through Tinder in our junior year and hit it off right away. From the start, we were always able to hold conversations for so long, so a lot of our first few hangouts were just chilling in our respective off-campus houses. Once I brought her to a formal in my fraternity, we were pretty much official. Five years later, things are as great as ever. We live down the block from each other in New York City and plan to live together later this year. I love Binghamton, and I love that it brought Halley and me together.

Ryan Byrne ‘21 and Halley Gerber ‘21

Exploring the world, one family trip at a time

We were introduced by a mutual friend on the softball fields near the East Gym during our sophomore year at Binghamton. She thought we looked cute together. It felt like there was a spark, but the timing wasn’t right. Over the next year, we’d run into each other around campus, at parties or downtown. We developed a friendship that sometimes seemed like more due to our undeniable chemistry. Eventually, Mike referred to me as his girlfriend, and I didn’t argue. I never imagined my senior-year boyfriend would become my husband in 2007. Over two decades together have brought us three kids and countless memorable trips to cities worldwide, including visits to Binghamton to show our kids where it all began!

Mariel (Herrera) Kimura ‘03 and Michael Kimura ‘03

From flirty to forever

Nicolle and I met during our junior year. I had just pledged Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed service fraternity, in the fall, and she pledged the following spring. We quickly became friends. After spending most of senior year going from playfully flirty to flirty-flirty, we had our first date at my apartment in Hillside. I cooked her dinner and even bought a bottle of wine, which served as an excellent mantlepiece since I forgot to buy a corkscrew. The date was equal parts sweet and awkward, but we felt like the timing wasn’t right with post-graduation plans and decided to remain friends. Over the next few years, we dated other people while maintaining both a friendship and a secret curiosity about whether it would work if we gave it another shot. Eventually, almost four years to the day after graduation, we decided to have a do-over on our first date. We’ve been inseparable ever since. We moved to Brooklyn a few years ago and were married this past August in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by family and friends, including many fellow APO brothers. We feel so lucky to have crossed paths at Binghamton!

Nicolle Luftman ‘15 and Adam Almonte ‘15

Wegmans runs to wedding bells

Andy and I both lived in Whitney Hall in Dickinson Community and met each other for the first time in the C4 Dining Hall through mutual friends during our first semester of freshman year. We enjoyed each other’s company so much and fell in love with each other – a first for the both of us. We have fond memories of studying in Bartle Library and the Science Library, going to movie nights at the Lecture Hall, playing pool in The Union with friends, taking the blue bus to the mall or Wegmans and eating our meals at the best dining hall ever – C4 Dining Hall! We were two quiet kids – a future electrical engineer and future pediatric dentist – with our whole lives ahead of us. Now, almost 29 years together and happily married for 21 years, we have a son and daughter and are living our best lives, thanks to Bing!

Andy Yu ‘99 and Pearl Yu ‘99

Skating into love

We met on Tinder, and our first date was at the campus ice rink, where I worked at the time (shoutout to Jenna, Pete, Denise and our team!). After my shift, I asked Alex if he wanted to come skate. Eventually, we went bowling, and he told me I bowled a “Brooklyn strike.” At the time, I didn’t know what that meant and assumed he was joking because I’m from Brooklyn, so I told him he bowled a “Staten Island strike.” Three years and many laughs later, that strike turned into a home run!

Alexander Petillo ‘22 and Arianna Costanzo ‘23

Across the states, but always together

We met during our final semester at Binghamton – me, a business student at the School of Management, and Lisa, a nursing student at Decker College. Our first date was at Little Venice, where we spent nearly four hours talking and closed down the restaurant. After graduation, Lisa moved to Rochester to work as a cardiac ICU nurse. When COVID hit, she was among the first to volunteer for the newly established COVID ICU. Meanwhile, I headed to Virginia to pursue a commission as a Marine Corps officer and have been serving on active duty since. In 2022, we tied the knot in South Carolina, and over the years, we’ve lived in six different states between the two of us. I’m grateful to Binghamton for a great education, but even more so for introducing me to the best person I’ve ever known – my wife.

Josiah Dillon ‘18 and Lisa Dillon ‘18

Hockey pucks and heartstruck

Jim, a senior, and I, a sophomore, started dating in February 1992. Cupid had a hockey stick instead of an arrow that month. I was the statistician for the Colonials Division 3 ice hockey team. On a cold Wednesday night, Feb. 19, the Colonials played the team from St. Bonaventure. Earlier that season, the Bonnies were the only team the Colonials could beat. Jim came to the game with Andy, a mutual friend, and they sat near me in the stands of the Polar Cap Ice Rink. Jim asked who I thought would win. I told him, hands down, the Colonials would win the game, and they’d score a lot of goals. He reminded me that the AHL’s Binghamton Rangers had a promotion that, if the team scored five or more goals, fans got a coupon for a free biscuit sandwich from McDonald’s. “What would I get if the Colonials scored many goals?” he asked. I told him I’d take him out for a meal. I had made a guarantee. Needless to say, on Sunday, Feb. 23, Jim and I went to Cortese Restaurant for pizza. He wouldn’t let me pay, and he let me take the leftovers back to my dorm. This July, we will celebrate 29 years of marriage.

Jim Fitch ‘92 and Lauren (Finchler) Fitch ‘94

Long Island love found at Binghamton

We met during our sophomore year in Mountainview through a mutual friend. We lived across the hall from each other, and our friendship blossomed. In our junior year, we both moved to 20 Hawley Street. We stayed in Binghamton for the long weekend in September, when the rest of our friends had gone home for break, and spent the time making food and getting to know each other better. It turns out we grew up just 10 minutes apart on Long Island but never would have met without attending Binghamton. Our connection deepened, and we had our first date strolling through Otsiningo Park. We’ve been together for eight years. Jason popped the question in 2023, and we are getting married in May 2025.

Katelyn Frisone ‘18 and Jason Zelamsky ‘18

Broke college kids, endless love

We met during our freshman year, living across the hall from each other in Hughes Hall. We started off as fast friends, hanging out on the quad, playing co-rec sports and exploring the Nature Preserve. Our friendship quickly grew into something more, and by October, we had our first official date at Hinman Dining Hall, in true broke college kid fashion. Now, nearly 10 years later, we’re married and love exploring the world together.

Jenn Boccuzzi ‘19 and Frank Boccuzzi ‘19

A perfect first date

Both of us were TAs in different departments – English and Political Science – and had offices nearby in the labyrinths of LNG. In 2016, we came up for air and had what turned out to be a perfect first date outdoors near Bartle Library after grabbing some not-so-perfect tea from the cafeteria. We never went back for that tea, but we went on many more dates, both on and off campus. We eventually got married, completed our doctorates and are now professors at another university with – guess what – offices nearby (albeit in different buildings). We just had our first baby in 2024.

Riya Das, PhD ’19 and Jeremy Berkowitz, PhD ‘18

From Binghamton to beyond

We met as freshmen living in College-in-the-Woods. We started as friends until sophomore year when we went to a SDT sorority formal together. We’ve been together ever since. We moved in together while attending graduate school in Philadelphia, and shortly after starting our first jobs – me as an attorney and her as an art teacher – we got married in 1994. We raised our two boys in South Jersey. Now that they are both on their own, we’ve moved back to New York and are enjoying early retirement together. We’re forever thankful to Binghamton for bringing us together and helping shape us as individuals. We continue to give back through the ZBT Epsilon Delta Endowed Scholarship and contributions to the Printmaking Department. Go Colonials (Bearcats)!

Jen D’Arrigo ‘92 and Brian Zuckerman ‘92

Grad school friends to married colleagues

We met during professional staff training for Residential Life in the summer of 2016. Over the next few years, we took several MPA classes together at the University Downtown Center and even sat next to each other at graduation in 2018, but we were just friendly acquaintances at the time. After graduation, we started spending more time together through Ryan’s brother, a friend of Sarah’s from graduate school. At the end of 2019, we officially started dating. We got married this past November, surrounded by our colleagues and friends from Binghamton. We both currently work in the Residential Life Office at Binghamton University and love being perpetual Bearcats!

Ryan Roosa, MPA ‘18 and Sarah Roosa ‘16, MPA/MSAA ‘18

Magical beginnings

I first met Nahla in the fall of 2023, when she started her first semester in the MBA program and I was already in my third. We crossed paths at a mutual friend’s house, and I’ll never forget the moment I heard her voice – soft and angelic, instantly captivating me. When I turned around, I was mesmerized by her sparkling eyes, and I felt an immediate connection. Though I was shy and hesitant to express my feelings, I found myself visiting her often and cherishing the time we spent together. As we grew closer, I quietly fell more in love, but didn’t have the courage to speak up. Then, in January 2024, after a simple grocery trip together, we talked about going out. A few days later, on January 10, we went on our first official date. We drove around all night, talking, laughing and holding hands – it felt like the beginning of something magical. Our relationship remained a secret for nearly a year, but with each passing day, our love grew stronger. On Dec. 29, 2024, I married her – the woman who changed my life in the most beautiful way. She’s now my wife, my partner and the greatest joy I could ever ask for.

Joheb Hasan Saeef, MBA ‘24 and Nahla Nawar Raya, MBA ‘25

Growing together, despite the distance

Our love story began in 2019, when he was starting his freshman year of college and I was in my senior year. We first met during a training session for the new student council members. I served as the vice president of the Chinese Student Union, and he was one of the recruits. The specifics of our first date are a bit hazy. It could have been a study session in the library, where we bonded over academics, or perhaps an apple-picking trip, where we shared laughs and enjoyed nature. Regardless, those early moments laid the foundation for what was to come. At the start of our relationship, we faced a major challenge – we were at different points in our lives. He had decided to pursue a PhD in the U.S., while I was preparing to return to China after graduation. This led to many difficult conversations and heartache. Ultimately, we realized that not giving our relationship a chance could lead to regret, so we decided to take the leap. Now, more than five years later, he’s in his second year of a PhD program in Madison, Wis., while I’ve been working in Guangzhou, China, for the past four years. Our long-distance relationship has spanned four years, with over two of those years affected by the pandemic, which limited our ability to meet in person. Despite the challenges, our love has remained strong. In 2025, we are determined to find a way to end the distance and finally be together. Our journey has been filled with ups and downs, but our commitment to each other and belief in love that transcends time and distance keeps us going. We eagerly look forward to the day we can finally share every moment together, creating new memories under the same sky.

Ivy/Xinyu Chai ‘20 and Jeremy/Molin Qin ‘23

Game nights to wedding lights

We met at the Binghamton Gaming Group (BGG) in October 2012. We became good friends over that year, having dinner together in C4 Dining Hall and enjoying gaming sessions or movies with friends. But there wasn’t enough time to start a “real” relationship before Jacob graduated. We spent nearly five years visiting each other long-distance while Jacob attended law school and Jess finished her studies at Binghamton, then went to graduate school in her home state of Maryland. We moved to New York together in 2018 and got engaged a year later. Our wedding was delayed due to the pandemic, but we finally tied the knot in May 2022, surrounded by several of our Binghamton friends. We now live in White Plains, N.Y., where Jacob is an attorney and Jess is a teacher in the city schools. We enjoy watching anime, Broadway shows and cute animal videos together, as well as spending time with Jacob’s 75-cousin family.

Jessamine Hickson ‘16 and Jacob Schwartz ‘13

A taco date that changed everything

Giseok, an international student from South Korea, and I, a local student from the Binghamton area, first connected when we kept making eye contact in The MarketPlace. Giseok approached me, told me I was cute and asked for my number. Our first date was at Garage Taco in the spring semester of 2023, and we’ve been dating ever since. Giseok now works as a software developer in Southern California, while I’m finishing up my last credits at Binghamton and applying to graduate schools in California to be closer to him. We’re currently in a long-distance relationship, and I visit him in California during every school break.

Autumn Calegari ‘24 and Giseok Ryu ‘24

Emma Young is a Communications Assistant for the Office of Media and Public Relations, and a junior majoring in English with a minor in education. She is interested in pursuing a career in public relations. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading and writing.