Any Penn Stater knows going to such a large school means interacting with new people on an almost daily basis. Whether it’s in your 8 a.m. lab, the fitness class you go to every Tuesday, or a weekend brunch at Pollock Commons, the ways to meet your peers are endless. And as Kylli Spotts discovered one night, sometimes the most fateful meetings happen in the most unlikely circumstances.

It was Spotts’ sophomore year in Happy Valley and her group of friends decided to hang out at a party on West College together. Before long, a boy named Kolin Knott decided to approach her and strike up a conversation. Though the two had never officially met, Spotts knew they shared a few mutual friends and that Knott was a year below her.

“Do you want to come home with me?” Knott said bluntly.

Spotts was instantly startled by the freshman’s bold introduction. “Don’t you live in East? I live a block away!” she said.

But Knott wasn’t about to give up that fast. “Oh!” he said. “So you want me to come home with you?”

Spotts decided she’d had enough of the uncomfortable interaction. She quickly found the rest of her group of friends and walked away from Knott, assuming she’d likely never run into the guy again at such a huge school. Little did she know their story wasn’t quite over yet.

When summer finally arrived, Spotts decided to take up a job at her town’s local pool. During an otherwise normal day at work, she happened to spot a familiar face among the other workers. As it turned out, Knott resided in the same hometown as Spotts and even had a job as a lifeguard at the same pool. During what became their second introduction, Spotts decided to avoid bringing up the story of the awkward encounter from a few months before. It quickly became clear that Knott had no recollection of what happened.

“Kolin, having had a rough night after he first met me at that party, did not remember having met me, nor that I even when to Penn State!” Spotts said. “Not wanting to embarrass Kolin, I kindly told him about the mutual friends we had, leaving out the details of the party he had forgotten.”

As the two worked together more often, they clicked instantly and enjoyed each other’s company during the long summer shifts. After spending more time together both at the pool and outside of work, Spotts and Knott began to wonder if the unlikely connection was more than just a friendship. They even became close enough that Spotts eventually decided to share the story of their first true meeting.

“I eventually told Kolin about his boldness that night at the party. He was initially embarrassed,” Spotts said. “But in the end, it all worked out in his favor as we started dating late that summer!”

The two have now been together for more than a year and couldn’t be happier to share their lives together as both significant others and best friends. To this day, they still love to share the story of the entertaining night that first brought them together.