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Penn State Love Stories 2015-16: Part 9

It’s another Penn State Friday, and even though the temperature is dropping ever-so-slowly, don’t let that stop you from going out and meeting new people. Brave the cold and enjoy the snow-less weather while you still can, and if you end up finding a special someone, don’t forget to let us know. Here’s our latest edition of Penn State Love Stories.

Joy Wang and Greg Weiss

Graduation dates: both in 2007

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(Image: Joy Wang and Greg Weiss)

Joy met Greg on her first weekend of freshman year in Simmons Hall. How many other couples do you think get to say that they met their love in their first few days of college?

While Joy and her new roommate Heather were decorating their dorm, Greg stopped by with a friend while exploring the halls.

The two remained close until their senior year when Greg finally asked Joy out on a date. Thankfully, a bottle of wine helped him find the courage, however he was too inebriated to remember her answer and had to ask her out again the next week. Their first date was to the Corner Room.

“Throughout the spring of senior year, we fell in love,” Joy fondly remembered.

After graduation, Joy went to medical school in Virginia while Greg went to grad school in Texas, and the long-distance relationship lasted two years with a lot of back-and-forth visiting.

“In April 2009, Greg proposed on top of Mount Bonnell in Austin, TX,” Joy continued. “We knew we had to have our wedding at Penn State since that’s where it all began. We were married at the Arboretum on May 7, 2011.”

The couple even had Graham Spanier officiate the wedding (remember, this was the spring of 2011). “We aren’t religious so we figured, as the president of Penn State, he represented our love of PSU. We just emailed him, and he actually agreed to do it and invited us over for a visit to his house.”

They are currently married and have a new member of the family; his name is Alexander and he was born in August.

Julie Guthrie and Dave Schmatz

Graduation dates: Julie 2011; Dave 2009

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(Image: Julie Guthrie and Dave Schmatz)

Julie Guthrie decided to rush Alpha Kappa Psi, one of the co-ed business fraternities on campus, in 2007, not knowing she’d end up meeting the love of her life.

When she began rushing, Dave was already a brother. They first met at a party, when Dave smiled at Julie while mingling on the front porch.

After that party, the two became good friends for the duration of Julie’s rushing, however, after she became a member the sparks really started to fly. For their first date, Dave took Julie to Rita’s Italian Ice.

He was a man full of life and ambition, she was a woman full of hopes and dreams and it wasn’t before long that they fell in love,” explained friends of the future bride, who submitted this story for the happy couple.

Through the rest of their time at Penn State, the two spent time together going to the Dark Horse and Pickle’s.

Dave graduated in 2009 and Julie still had two more years left. During this time apart, their love only grew stronger. Dave returned to Penn State many times to visit Julie and attend football games. Everytime he came back, he even brought Crumbs cupcakes for Julie.

During her senior year, Julie danced in THON and Dave spent as much time with her on the floor as he could. He made sure she stayed hydrated and gave her some much-needed foot massages and piggy back rides.

After graduation and their time at Penn State, the two moved to Hoboken, N.J. While there, both couples worked hard to build successful careers.

Recently, the two purchased a home in Hoboken, where they currently live with Phantom, their Havanese dog. Even more recently, the two became engaged. In August, Julie arrived home to romantic music and when she stepped onto their balcony she saw Dave on his knee, holding a ring. The two will marry this July.

Chris & Kayleigh Saucier (previously Kayleigh Christie)

Graduation dates: Kayleigh 2011, Chris 2012

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(Image: Chris & Kayleigh; Wedding Photo Credit: Blake C. Photography)

Kayleigh begins her story as many do, meeting Chris through a friend of a friend. “There was always some tension,” Kayleigh said. “Chris made fun of me relentlessly. Unfortunately, that hasn’t really stopped, but I eventually found it endearing or something?”

At the time, the two were dating other people, but during their junior year they both found themselves newly single. “One night our friends were all out together and we started looking at each other a little different,” she explained.

As Kayleigh was set to graduate a semester before Chris, she intended just to keep things casual as they had plans to go their separate ways. She was going to medical school in Missouri and Chris was headed to his hometown in Connecticut to work for an aerospace company. By the time Kayleigh graduated their relationship had strengthened and both agreed to a long-term relationship that would last another two years.

“Last year, I was assigned to finish my clinical years of medical school in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was our big chance! As soon as I got my assignment, Chris began looking for a job in Grand Rapids.”

Their story found a happy ending when Chris was granted a job at GE in Michigan. “We lived together for a few months and were excited last October when our friends from college wanted to come out for the Michigan game. We planned a huge tailgate and that day Chris proposed! In a lumber yard. While I was stuffing my face. But it was with all our friends and it was perfect!”

That moment was almost exactly one year ago, which was the main reason for their wedding last weekend. When Kayleigh submitted her story, she was at the Atlanta airport on her way home from the honeymoon.

Kayleigh and Chris’ love story is picture perfect, and the two are quick to thank their friends for what they have. Their friends are so important to them that Kayleigh wanted to give a special shout out to them.

“Our friends from college are the best. Despite having a wedding in Michigan, people flew across the country to celebrate with us. It was really cool to have some of them be the ones to introduce us, be there for the proposal, fly up to party with us for our bachelor/bachelorette party, and then have a number of them stand up in bridal party. I’ve never known people to make such great efforts to stay connected and it’s pretty cool. We even have plans to see all those people again in a few weeks in Happy Valley for this year’s Michigan game. Basically, our friends are great. I wouldn’t be sitting here next to my husband today without them.”

***

To submit your own story, fill out this form. And be sure to check out our previous Love Stories, parts one, two, three, fourfive, six, seven, and eight.

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About the Author

Brandilyn Heckman

is a junior majoring in Secondary Education (English). Though she commutes to class from her home in Penns Valley, she refuses to be called a 'townie.' Along with Onward State, she currently interns with the Centre Daily Times. In her spare time, she is unafraid to show her love for Penn State, Landon Donovan, and Captain America. You can follow her on twitter at @Brandilynh or contact her via email with [email protected].”

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